22 | Jun | 12

Richard Johnson

The Age of Asparagus

Asparagus Pizza — it’s not on the Dominos menu just yet, but it’s certainly a big seller for Well Kneaded Food. I rushed down to try one on 21 June, the last official day of the English asparagus season.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you when it will be back on the menu because no-one actually knows when the asparagus season (or, as headline writers like to put it, the Dawning of the Age of Asparagus) is meant to start.

Some English farmers grow asparagus under polythene tunnels and harvest it as early as the end of March. In fact, in recent years, the rush to get the very first asparagus into shops has led some commentators to dub English asparagus ‘the new Beaujolais nouveau’. But, like anything grown in a tunnel, it simply doesn’t have the flavour of sunshine and open air.

Well Kneaded Food are all about using what’s local and seasonal. And their asparagus is no different. Sure, it economised on food miles, and was better for the environment – but it also tasted better than something from Peru or Brazil. Its slightly sweet, herbal-grassy quality worked really well with a Norfolk Sorry if you missed it. Now you’ll have to wait until 2013…..