There is, say growers, no better time to eat asparagus. The UK season has just begun and consumers now have a scant two-month window to enjoy the benefits of the homegrown product; the fresh, vitamin-rich spears, are usually harvested less than 48 hours before the time they hit the consumer’s plate, and as such are crisp and flavoursome.
The British-grown vegetable is so synonymous with seasonality, for many it marks the full onset of spring and the impending English summer. Championing the seasonality cause, celebrity chefs and food writers seem to have convinced consumers of its inherent qualities, and asparagus sales continue to rocket year-on-year.
And the latest forecast is its brightest yet: early indicators suggest that UK asparagus will experience its best season to date, with supermarkets such as Waitrose predicting a 40 per cent rise in sales of domestic product on last year - terrific growth when you consider that 2005 general asparagus sales were already healthy, recording a 50 per cent hike on the previous 12 months, with UK trade up by 25 per cent alone.
The Asparagus Growers’ Association - made up of growers country-wide - has also estimated that the £20 million UK asparagus industry could enjoy an annual expansion of around 10 per cent.
The vegetable’s sales success is undoubtedly due in no small part to the ‘Jamie Oliver effect’, Oliver himself was held singularly responsible for a 290 per cent increase in sales of British asparagus in Sainsbury’s stores last year. The burgeoning sales growth implies that this kind of campaign has worked. According to british-asparagus.co.uk, the association’s website, Japan - the world’s largest importer of asparagus - is not able to import any desired UK asparagus because we eat our entire harvest ourselves.
Asparagus’s profile has also evolved in recent years. Once a gourmet vegetable associated exclusively with fine dining, it is now available in UK supermarkets at an increasingly affordable price. The result is that the vegetable has become attainable for the average shopper, helping it to win a loyal, ever-widening customer base.
But its appeal does not lie exclusively with these commercial factors, which could apply to asparagus in general. British asparagus has built a reputation of its own, and its presence is heavily felt at this time of year as its season begins. Why it has achieved such standing is obvious to growers and industry figures passionate about it: many feel the British climate is ideally suited to growing the product during March and April, allowing the spears to develop at a gentler rate, therefore allowing a superior, sweet flavour and a crisp, unparalleled texture. It is a delicate product, which deteriorates fairly rapidly post-harvest, which is why asparagus grown locally means enjoying it at its best, explains Jamie Petchell, Hargreaves Plants’ asparagus project leader: “The homegrown product is popular principally because it’s fresher. This means it takes less time to reach the market and therefore its intense flavour is better preserved. We have to deal with a very different climate to those in some areas where asparagus is easier to grow, but the slow growing nature of our product makes it more flavoursome. Also, all imported asparagus is pretty much one variety - the UK offers a much greater range.”
Traditionally, UK growers have planted Dutch cultivars such as Franklin, Gijilm and Backlin, but this range has broadened over the years to include American varieties, such as Jersey Giant. Petchell explains that the original varieties were bred for white asparagus production on the continent and as such are not ideal for the UK palate. However, new cultivars are coming in, and this aspect is something Hargreaves is focussing on, he says: “We are now seeing varieties bred specifically for green gras made available to the grower. Hargreaves plants is leading the way in this respect and we now have exclusive ties with programs in Canada, New Zealand and Italy.” As part of this varietal development, the company is trialling over 200 selections - potentially the largest asparagus assessment of its kind in Europe.
Approximately 2,500 acres of asparagus is cultivated in the UK overall, and this is scattered across the country from Cornwall to Cheshire and favours sandy, light soils with good drainage. Petchell explains: “Asparagus can be grown in most areas of the UK, but it does favour the warmer regions and as such we see a lot in the south, east and southwest.”
Planting begins in early March and continues until the end of April when the first significant commercial production starts. UK asparagus is then available until June with cutting traditionally finishing on the longest day, June 21.
However, British growers have had to contend with cooler temperatures this spring, delaying the season’s start in some regions, explains James Hallett, commercial director at Mack Multiples: “The season has been slow starting as crowns respond to soil temperature which has been relatively slow to warm up,” he says. “The recent rains have been very cold and have also slowed soil warming even though the temperature has now improved.”
The cooler temperatures slowing production were felt harder in some parts of the country than others; production sites in the east did not begin until last week, but supplies from the west made up the bulk of early volumes.”
In response to this problem, some growers are finding ways of safeguarding against the unpredictable British weather, Petchell says. “Growers with protected crops have felt the benefit of covers by being able to start earlier. In the future, I think we will see more protected crops to act as an insurance against a late start,” he claims. Hallett agrees: “More growers are now using tunnels, cloches and plastic sheets to help lift soil temperatures and encourage early production,” he says. “Under supported protection, a greater percentage of class I is produced.”
But some growers are going further than simply insuring that the season’s start is not delayed by the weather. The industry is increasingly looking for ways to extend the season at both ends by using new varieties and crop production techniques such as crop covering, as well as manipulating growing conditions like soil type.
Andrew Jones is commercial director at Flamingo Holdings, which this year anticipates its first season of organic and purple asparagus. He explains the company hopes to eventually achieve a season that finishes in August: “Extension of the season, which is a USP of Cobrey Farms, will increase each year, with a target of the end of August. We currently produce asparagus around the Ross-on-Wye area. This land is selected for sunny exposure with free-draining soils - microclimates become very important in allowing for season extension. We are looking at extending seasons by growing crops on different aspects. Early season is attained by south-facing slopes and the utilisation of tunnels; a late season is attained by north-facing slopes which maximises the day length post summer solstice.”
And it seems there will be no shortage of customers to buy up the extra volumes an extended season could bring. The British resurgence in demand for seasonal products seems only to be getting stronger, and shows no sign of flagging.
Jones is optimistic: “The hope for British asparagus is that it continues to grow in popularity with big increases in shopper penetration and frequency and weight of purchase. The key is maintaining interest based around seasonality.”
Petchell agrees: “In the next five years, I hope to see a continuing expansion of the market through new varieties which are named on the packaging, an extended season and greater consumer awareness.”
And if market predictions ring true, they won’t be disappointed.
Asparagus goes to auction in Evesham
it seems growers and celebrity chefs are not the only ones rejoicing in the start of the British asparagus season.
Proprietors of the Fleece Inn at Bretforton in the Vale of Evesham are this month holding their Annual Asparagus Auction.
Taking place on the May 28, the auction is a long-held pub tradition borne from a time when local growers used the event to market their produce. Today growers auction off bunches of their homegrown ‘gras’ and proceeds fund the town’s silver band.
But the party does not stop there. May 29 sees the start of the town of Evesham’s annual Asparagus Festival, also hosted by the Fleece Inn. The week-long event boasts an action packed programme including cookery demonstrations, a farmers market, craft fair, talks on traditional ways of growing asparagus and displays of historic asparagus artefacts.
The Vale of Evesham’s Poet Laureate Mike Edwards will be writing and performing poems inspired by asparagus, and the pub will become the venue for a folk night featuring traditional music and songs about growing and farming, with a particular focus on asparagus. The week ends with a charity ball offering partygoers a traditional asparagus meal.
Landlord Nigel Smith said he has high hopes for the celebrations: “I’m very excited about the prospect of the Asparagus Festival and this year we’ve had a lot of interest. I think there’s growing interest in asparagus throughout the country and it’s great that the pub is a focal point for British asparagus - the king of vegetables.”
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