April 8, 2020 • 41 mins
This vegetable has long been prized for its flavor, appearance, and effect on our urine. Yep. Anney and Lauren explore the spirited history and science of asparagus.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello, and welcome to Sabor Protection of I Heart Radio.
I'm Annie Reese and I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today we're
talking about asparagus. Yes, thanks to Secret Mermaid, our listener
and the epic request and pictures she sent of her
in burlesque asparagus attire. I mean that is how you
(00:28):
get it to do a topic. Yeah, boy, apparently that's
all you need to do, is a burlesque routine revolving
around the food. And we will immediately jump on that topic.
We will drop everything else. This is a saver emergency.
It's time to talk about asparagus. It is, it turns
out is kind of timely because they're in season here
(00:52):
um and also associated with Easter by some folks because
of their fast springtime growth symbolizing resurrection. Yeah, definitely a
springtime kind of treat. I just cooked some some asparagus
the other day, so so it is fresh in my mind.
I definitely have a craving. I I've always liked asparagus,
(01:15):
but for some reason, like one of my main memories
of asparagus is how weird. I thought as a kid
that it was my brother's favorite vegetable. I thought that
was weird. I don't know why this is like the
thing that stands out. I definitely didn't develop an appreciation
for asparagus until I was a little bit older. Um,
(01:37):
I don't think my parents served it that often, though
I can't. I don't have very many like deep childhood
memories of asparagus. Maybe I've just blocked it out. Maybe
it just wasn't of interest to me, so I forgot
all about it until a little bit later on. But yeah, no,
I mean I I love this stuff now, and I
still feel like it's sort of like a special treat
because it can be expensive. So as I'm like, who asparagus? Like,
(01:59):
are we fancy today? Like? Wow, it does feel fancy. Right,
I'm gonna I'm hoping I can get my hands on
some soon. But alright, alright, alright, let's get your question. Yes, asparagus,
what is it? Well, asparagus is made of edible spears
(02:22):
or the part that we eat, our spears that that
shoot up from an underground um stem and root system
that all that'll go on living year after year, like
up to twenty years UM. If it is properly tended
to and if you were to let those spears keep growing. Um.
You know those like triangular scales along the shaft of asparagus. Yeah,
And and that are also like bundled together at the top.
(02:44):
That those are protective coverings for for where leafy feathered
branches would grow out of that main stem um up
to a height of like six ft or or about
two meters. And and the bundle at the top of
the spear is not a flower structure. Um. Flowers happen
on those feathery branches that you could let grow if
you wanted to. Um. And some flower structures develop into
(03:06):
red berries that should you grow them, you should not
eat because they are mildly toxic. Well there you go,
important safety tip. Um. Yeah. And we harvest and eat
asparagus spears when they're still young and unbranchy, because that
is when they are tender. If you've ever had like
a like stringy asparagus, that means it's old enough that
it's developed a tough tissue in preparation for for bearing
(03:29):
the weight of future branches. Fun thing about asparagus, the
spears will continue using their sugars to develop that tough
tissue even after you harvest them, meaning that you should
cook asparagus pretty soon after you purchase it, although keeping
it in the fridge does help stall out that development
a little bit. Left to its own devices, asparagus spears
(03:51):
will be mostly green um. And that's from the chlorophyll
that the plant creates when it's exposed to sunlight UM,
so that it can you know, turn that light into
more energy. Some varieties will take on a purplish coloring
um just on the scales or throughout. White asparagus is
specifically grown in dim or dark conditions, often in like
(04:11):
hills of soil, to prevent that chlorophyll from happening. And
that's why that's why white asparagus is more expensive. It's
more work, huh. Also not very popular in America, apparently,
like the way that people prefer it, I guess in
Germany and France. So so who knows. I have never
had asparagus. I'm trying to think if I have, and
(04:34):
I can't. I cannot remember for the life of me.
So um, maybe not, maybe I should A mystery of
Laurence history. Yeah. Absolutely, Asparagus do prefer temperate climates where
where the ground remains kind of cold into the spring,
which is when those spears shoot up, and it's enjoyed
all kinds of ways, boiled, baked, steamed in saltees and soups,
(04:57):
shaved in salads, in schnops. I've heard it's in schnops,
snaps asparagus schnops. Yes, I heard it's very zy. Huh
someone right in? Yeah? Absolutely. Um. I've also heard about
asparagus ice cream and I want to try that immediately.
It sounds so herbaceous, like semi savory, arbaceious ice cream. Yeah,
(05:19):
I do too, M craving. I didn't know I was
going to have today. Right here we are. The botanical
name for the asparagus that we're most familiar with a
garden asparagus is asparagus a fishi analis um. The word
asparagus derives from similar words for the plant, going back
to uh, the Greek asparaghos, which might have its inception
(05:40):
in a pie root, meaning to spring up. No one
is super share about that one. And the species name
of fish anais comes from the Latin term for like
the medical supply room or dispensary of monasteries um, pointing
to asparagus use in medicine. Ah. Yes, and that brings
us to the nutrition. Yesh, Asparagus is a great addition
(06:04):
to your diet. Is just packed with vitamins and minerals
and has good punches of protein and dietary fiber. It's
low and fat and calories though, so although it will
help fill you up, it's best paired with a bit
of fat and a bit more protein to help keep
you going. And traditionally it's been used to treat all
kinds of conditions. Research into its dietary uses is ongoing.
(06:26):
Bodies are complicated, More research is necessary. But one thing
that there is, as it turns out, just a lot
of research about already, is asparagus p indeed, just a
shocking amount. Oh my gosh. Okay, alright, so folks have
been researching this like like in earnesty since about the
(06:48):
nineteen fifties. So if your p smells weird after you
eat asparagus, you're not alone. Um. Asparagus contains a number
of sulfuric compounds, including one that is unique to asparagus
um aspara gussic acid asparag goosic acid. I didn't look
it up and I'm not gonna so there. Um researchers
still don't know why our body deals with this stuff
(07:11):
differently than with other sulfuric compounds, so that it is
so odorous in our urine. But if your p does
not smell weird after you eat asparagus, you are also
not alone. Researchers think that some folks just don't have
the genes that code for the right olfactory receptors in
our noses to sense these compounds. Um, And there's some
(07:34):
argument about whether some human bodies might not even create
those compounds to begin with. The general census seems to
be that it's more the sensory thing. But further um,
the genes that code for those sensory receptors in in
our in our noses have hundreds of variants across our genome.
(07:54):
This isn't like a single gene. This is like a
lot of repetition a us our genomes. So like, why
did why did our bodies decide that this was evolutionarily important?
I also, what can you do if you can't smell it?
What this is? This is not a question that I
(08:17):
came up with on my own. This would not have
occurred to me to ask. But in in a study
published in the British Medical Journal in that was looking
into these genes that are responsible for being able to
smell this um that the researchers wrote, quote, future replication
studies are necessary before considering targeted therapies to help anasmic
(08:39):
people discover what they're missing. An osmic being a people
who cannot smell this stuff. So yeah, there's if you've
never smelled asparagus p before, there's hope for you. Yet. Wow,
are there people out there that are just really bummed
that that yearning yearning they don't get this very strange aroma.
(09:02):
They'll never know, you know, I I do get it.
So I so I can't speak for anyone, I guess,
right in let us know. I mean, sure, sure, I'd
love to hear from someone who's like, one day I
hope to know what this is all about. Yeah, have
you been like just just living with the sense of
(09:23):
like like existential loss because you don't have this Like
is this is this a thing that plagues You're like
waking dreams like yes, just dreams of asparagus? Right in?
We need to know, we gosh, we do, um, but
(09:44):
what about what about some numbers? Wow? All right, well,
moving away from roma PI a roma you never know
whether it will go h China leaves the way in
asparagus production, followed by Peru and Mexico. In the United States,
it's most asparagus is grown in California and then Michigan UM,
but it has been introduced to the entire continental United
(10:05):
States and to all of Canada. The Guinness record for
the longest stock of asparagus is from two thousand four
from from from Canada and it measured over eleven feet long.
That's like three and a half meters. Wow, right, right.
And there is a very sweet story from from the
(10:27):
Southeast Iowa Union from twenty nineteen about this one gardener
I think in Washington State who had an even taller one,
but apparently it didn't make the Guinness book. You know,
I've read some criticism about the Guinness process that's a
little bit biased, but you know, but people are out
there trying for it, and I think that's what's important.
And there is a picture included with this Internet article
(10:51):
where this grower had created this wild scaffolding structure um
in order to support it, and I just I just
love everything about that. That is pretty great. I love
how because asparagus can last, like you said, fifteen to
twenty years. Some farmers call it like old friends. So
(11:14):
she built a scaffolding for her whole buddy. Yeah, well yeah,
because she she said that it was like it was
like growing like eight inches, like in in a short
like every short period of time, like a day or
like a week or something like that. And uh and
so at a certain point, you know, she was just like, well,
let's see how far this Let's see how far this
(11:36):
rabbit hole goes. Yeah, let's we approve, we approve. Oh
my gosh. Um. There are also asparagus festivals. Um. There's
one annual one in Stockton, California, Um, every April, and
it has been put off this year. Um, sadly, but
but they do when when it's back. They hold a
(11:57):
world deep fried asparagus eating Championship. Oh. The most recent
number and the largest record from which I could find
was from and professional competitive eater Joey Chestnut set the
record of twelve pounds eight point seven five of deep
fried asparagus in ten minutes. Wow. There's a lot of
(12:24):
things struggling to process with that piece of information. Yeah,
I'm still kind of stuck on the deep fried asparagus. Yeah,
I think it's like it's like whole spears that have
been breaded and deep fried, which sounds delicious, and I'm
mad that I've never eaten it. I know, my thing,
(12:44):
Why is that right? Gosh, I imagine it's like it's
like deep fried green beans, but even more like tender
and succulent. Well, now is the time for cooking projects,
oh rush, and now is the time for asparagus perfect.
(13:05):
I also wanted to put in here that this that
this annual festival also has a spear. It's of the Valley,
which is their wine and beer pavilion spear. It's that's excellent, excellent,
certainly something. I love it, and I don't care what
that says about me. Me me neither. I appreciate what
(13:31):
it says about you. Thank you, Lauren, Thank you any time.
Oh my goodness. Um, and yeah, we we do have
some some history. How how did we get here to?
These are modern times of asparagus puns and festivals. But
(13:51):
but first we've got a quick break for a word
from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes,
thank you. So we humans have been cultivating and eating
asparagus for over two thousand years but they've been kicking
(14:14):
around for at least five thousand years in the wild.
Researchers think asparagus originated in the Mediterranean and or parts
of Asia. The wild varieties have been traced back to Africa.
The crop was also probably cultivated early on in Egypt
and perhaps used medicinally or as an offering in rituals,
and the ancient Chinese would treat esteemed guest to an
(14:38):
asparagus footpath upon arrival. Oh gosh, huh, yeah, I like it. Um,
I mean not that, not that they need my approval. Um. Yeah.
Asparagus was depicted on tombs in ancient Egypt as circa
fourth century BC. The ancient Greeks ascribed medicinal value to
(14:58):
asparagus as well, and also leaved it was a yep,
you guessed it an afro d z A. I was
like shocked that this surprised me. How much of an
aphrodisiac people thought this was? Um? But okay, more on
that in a bit. Hypocrates recommended it for diarrhea, urethra
(15:18):
ailments and as a diuretic. In one area of ancient Greece,
there was a wedding tradition involving asparagus quote. After vailing
the bride, they put on her head a chaplet of asparagus.
For this plant yields the finest flavored fruit from the
roughest thorns. And so the bride will provide for him
who does not run away or feel annoyed at her
first display of peevishness and unpleasantness, a docile and sweet
(15:43):
life together. So asparagus, if you're feeling a little snappy
right now, ed asparagus, it'll be okay. Yeah, it can
heal marriages. So yep, that is the official that is
(16:04):
the science fact. Yes, yes, plenty noted about asparagus. Quote.
If a person is rubbed with asparagus beaten up in oil,
he will never be stung by bees. Now do you
imagine that this only works for as long as the
the asparagus is on you? Right? Or is it a
one time is it right? Yeah? Is it like the
(16:24):
cootie shot? Like you're right, Well, you gotta as long
as you do the complete cootie shot though, because if
you only do the first half right, it's not gonna work. Yeah. Yeah,
you have to do it for all your life. That's
very important. It's true. It's true. We've got so many
science facts for you to dig. We do you know
my favorite UM power in the video game BioShock is
(16:45):
the b one and I, oh, of course it's the best.
But I remember when I read about it was like
that sounds so silly, But then when I got it,
like no, this is great. Oh yeah, yeah, No. I've
never felt like such a gleeful maniac as when I
had the power to shoot bees at people. Yes, yes,
(17:07):
but and I loved how there was the risk of
danger too, because for anyone who hasn't played this game,
basically you can attact people with bees, but you can
also leave. You can also leave traps be traps, and
I love the danger of setting one of those and
then you're just walking to log mine your own business
and then you hear the roar of a big daddy
because he stepped into your beach trap, and then you're dead. Yeah. Um, yeah,
(17:31):
you gotta watch out. You gotta watch out for be traps.
But if we had this thing from plenty, we we
would have been safe. We clearly need to go back
into BioShock. Um And for the tinned asparagus, I'm sure
that there's some in there, Yes, yes, that's probably the
only way to protect yourself from the bees. Yeah. And
(17:53):
if it isn't already, then producers of BioShock. I'm sure
you're listening. Go on, go on and write that back
in very very important. You've got to be historically accurate here. Um.
In addition to its use as a be repellent um,
asparagus is also mentioned in the oldest surviving recipe book
(18:15):
by Epicius, You Go Asparagus. The ancient Romans aid asparagus
either as a main course or aside um. Some records
indicate that at this time, some varieties of these asparagus
were hefty, coming in at around one third of a pound.
So I can see her stock, Yeah, exactly, like it
being a whole meal. Um. Emperor Augustus loved asparagus. He
(18:37):
would send elite guards called the Asparagus Fleet, out in
search of asparagus, and then have the fastest people he
could find take the freshly harvested asparagus up into the
Alps to store them. The story goes he even coined
the saying quicker than you can cook asparagus, a saying
I've never heard, but I enjoy. Yeah, yeah, and I
(19:00):
love I love this story that this dude just had
a fleet at the ready, like as quick asparagus emergency,
go go go. Yeah, Someone's like, so what do you do?
I am in the asparagus fleet. I can only hope
it was a really esteemed position. Yeah, like like, oh,
(19:21):
you must be very fast. Gosh, exactly exactly. Apuleius, first
century poet and author of the Golden Ass, landed himself
in courts for witchcraft after he was accused of making
a love potion to woo a rich widow. Yeah, and
this potion was made up of asparagus, fish eggs, crab tails.
(19:45):
I don't know what that is, a bird's tongue, and
doves blood. But he was acquitted. Well that's good. Um.
Fun fun with language. Um in Middle English, so sometime
between like um, some folks apparently mistook asparages um asparagus
(20:08):
as a as a plural, leading to the singular asparagee
or sparag we're discussing this. Yeah, I love that, Yes,
I love the singular a sparagy. Yes, I shall take
a one asparage please, just the one, but only the
one into the position. To the Emperor of Habsburg wrote,
(20:29):
asparagus makes men have pleasant desires, yes, and this was
around the time historians think asparagus arrived in Germany, probably
through monasteries. By the sixteenth century, asparagus had made its
way to the tables of the aristocracy, and French King
Louis was a big, big fan, so much so he
(20:54):
had special greenhouses built so he could enjoy asparagus whenever
he desired. His second wife, Madame de Matino, eagerly sought
out new asparagus recipes. Asparagus was cultivated almost solely for
nobility until the eighteenth century, and this is around the
time the French cultivated variety made its way to Britain.
(21:14):
Nicholas Culpepper wrote in sixteen fifty three, A concoction of
asparagus roots boiled in wine and being taken while fasting
several mornings together stirs up lust in men or woman whatever.
Some have written to the contrary, so he was coming
out in favor. He's like, no, asparagus is an aphrodisiac.
I tell you, just mix it with some wine and
(21:37):
don't eat anything else, you know, I can see yeah, sure,
Oh my gosh. More more fun with language. From the
sixteen through the eighteen hundreds. Um, if regular folks in
the English speaking parts of the world did grow asparagus,
they might have called it sparrow grass instead. Um, asparagus
(22:01):
was considered a little bit of like a like a
hoity toity like ivory tower sort of word like like
what are you like a botanist calling it asparagus grass? Yeah? Wow,
all right. During the nineteenth century, nervous bridegrooms were advised
to eat three courses of asparagus on their wedding day
to combat performance anxiety. Okay, hmm, I think that was
(22:26):
specifically in France, but you know, European settlers brought asparagus
to the America's by the seventeen hundreds, and Thomas jeffersons
that one he loves them. He had like a whole
plot dedicated to them. Richard Bradley's seventeen nineteen guide New
Improvements of Planting and Gardening both philosophical and practical, came
(22:49):
with this quote about asparagus. The asparagus is one of
the great dainties of the spring, and what I account
to be part of the most necessary furniture of a garden.
Dainties up the spring furniture of a garden. Ha. Indeed,
that is beautiful. I'm speaking of beautiful. Um. In eighteen
(23:11):
eighty an art collector commissioned a work from from Eduard Manet,
a Bunch of Asparagus than the name of the work
is a bunch of asparagus. He commissioned it for eight
hundred francs. Manet painted the bundle of of purple tipped
white asparagus tied up a string. Um sent it on
to the collector, and the collector sent him a thousand francs.
Manett responded by sending a second, smaller still life of
(23:34):
a single asparagus spear, along with a note that said,
there was one missing from your bunch. Oh, I know,
that's so much um. And Marcel Proust work in Search
of Lost Time, collected from nine seven. He wrote, all
(23:56):
night long, after dinner at which I had partaken of asparagus,
they play ad lyrical and course, and they're jesting as
the fairies in Shakespeare's dream at transforming my chamber pot
into a vase of oz, I say, of aromatic perfume.
So people were wondering about this for a while. They
were yeah, yeah, um and man, he was apparently just
(24:17):
a big fan of asparagus. He also wrote um later
or perhaps earlier in the same I think later in
the same work, what fascinated me would be the asparagus
tinged with ultramarine and rosy pink, which ran from their heads,
finally stippled in wuave and azure through a series of
imperceptible changes to their white feet, still stained a little
(24:37):
by the soil of their garden bed, a rainbow loveliness
that was not of this world. Wow right, Wow, Okay,
I'm gonna get an asparagus and just prop it up
and get some good lighting, and I'm just gonna try
to appreciate the beauty and see if I get anywhere
near what he's writing about. I mean, I mean, I
(25:00):
think he was also talking about the white variety of
asparagus here, So maybe we're really missing out on something.
You're right, right, We need to get the world pandemic
under control. Number one, Go to France or possibly Germany. Yes,
and and three seek out some white asparagus. Possibly, go
(25:22):
to a farm where they're growing it. Reach our little
grubby hands into the into the soil. There's apparently a
specific asparagus cutter tool that you use when you're when
you're reaching in there into these hills of earth to
to pluck these white asparagus that have never seen the
light of the sun. Um, you go check it out
for ourselves. That is the only way, there is no
(25:46):
other way could get our white asparagus. That's it. I
love it, Lauren. You're always seeing clearly what needs to
be done. I can't wait to present the planned to
our boss. I am practical if nothing else, and I
think Conal will agree. I think he will because he's
(26:07):
a man of sense as well. So soon we will
understand the beauty of the white asparagus. Gosh, I hope so.
It sounds so nice. It does. But anyway, back to
the history. In the nineteen fifties, canned asparagus hint the
shelves in the US. It was pretty popular. And I'm
(26:28):
pretty sure that that's where, um, the tradition of of
asparagus casseroles in in Christmas and Thanksgiving tables came about
in in the United States because previous to that, I
can't imagine that you would have gotten that much fresh
asparagus around that time. Not nowadays, we can get it
pretty much all year round from um Northern Hemisphere places
(26:49):
in the spring and Southern Hemisphere places in the fall.
But anyway. Another literary reference in novel Love in the
Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes of a character
having this disastrous day and his only consolations to this
day being a nap um and and be the immediate
(27:10):
pleasure of smelling a secret garden in his urine that
had been purified by lukewarm asparagus. WHOA well, right, you
know that goes back to what we were saying before,
the sadness. If you can't smell this lukewarm Yeah, yeah,
according to no less than get real Garcia Marquez. Um,
(27:31):
if you're not smelling it, you are missing out. Stop
and smell the asparagus. P everyone, and then if you can't, sorry,
that's what the thing should be. Yes, I will put
it to a vote immediately. Great the savor democracy whom
(27:54):
I am not sure, but figure out the details later
m hm um. In recent asparagus news, thanks to a
few trade agreements, the amount of asparious production in the
United States has dropped sixty from two thousand four to
two thousand fourteen, and it has not rebounded. I think
(28:16):
since Yeah, gosh, yeah, it's pretty severe. There's there's a
handful of like government memos about it. Yeah yeah, and
it's it's for a lot of reasons. It's it's the
trade agreements, but also it's kind of difficult to grow,
and it does take sort of a a minute. Yeah. Yeah,
(28:38):
you're you're not supposed to really harvest um any of
it for the first year that it's grown, um, and
much at all of it for the second year that
it's grown. It's really in the third year that growers
say that it's okay to start really taking stocks off
because before then, yeah, you're you're letting that that root,
that underground stem and roots system developed so that it
(28:59):
will douce um large crops of flavorful tender shoots. Um.
So yeah, So it takes takes a minute to start up.
And and I'm sure the climate change isn't helping. Nope, nope, um.
And it is like it is the old friend. So
you have to have to be gentle with the asparagus.
(29:20):
Oh you do. You have to, you have to, you
have to take care of it. It's a it's a
long term relationship. We all need a long term relationship
with asparagus in our lives. Yes, yes, I agree. Well
that about is what we have to say an asparagus.
It is. Um. We do have a little bit more
(29:40):
for you, though, but first we've got one more quick
break for a word from our sponsor, and we're back.
Thank you, sponsor, Yes, thank you, We're back with love
(30:04):
shooting up spring. Obviously, I don't know I even have
to explain. You shouldn't you shouldn't clear, Yes, I should.
I shouldn't let people interpret it. I as an artist,
I am putting my own interpretations, and that's wrong. I
don't know. I don't think it's wrong to let people
(30:26):
know what you are thinking when yeah, yeah, the artist's intent. Yeah,
I think that's fine. I mean, like, it would be
weird if you said, if you said it before, if
you were like, now, think of this one as this
thing specifically. That would be a little bit you know,
hoity toity, not calling it an asparagus at a certain
time in history. And that's not what I want. No, no,
(30:49):
you don't want to to think that of you. No, no, never,
Sam wrote, I've been a fan of Savor food stuff
since the beginning and ever since this mad situation we
have with seaword being COVID coronavirus around the world. Right now,
I realized food is the one thing I need to
keep relatively sane and happy. I actually caught myself once
or twice thinking it's okay, as long as I have cheese, marmite,
(31:12):
bread and butter or something to make it with, I
will be absolutely fine. Now though I realized I also
need food stuff. Sorry, favorite I've written in tongues with
my mad cap usually disastrous adventures with food, and one
of my favorite sections of the podcast, alongside well what
is It? And the history is a listener male. It
(31:32):
warms the cockles of my bitter little heart now and
they hurt. People out there love food as much as
I do. As someone who works in mental health, I
totally know how difficult it must be for you too
to just carry on and keep doing what you're doing.
But you really pull it off. Thank you. It's exactly
the same as the show we've all come to new
and love. I absolutely loved the bond Me episode, and
(31:53):
I had actually made some ponds of me recently. There
I was spreading marmite on my cheese, and marmite toasty
Monstross Tod and I thought, oh my god, pan French
colonialism bond could it be? And that was almost immediately
before Lauren mentioned the exact same theory. It honestly made
these monotonous days when everything is the same just a
(32:13):
little bit special. That being said, I listened to the
meat Pies episode. Lauren, You're a hufflepuff? An argument there, Slytherin.
Oh big argument there, outrage, I well stand for it.
I once again, the snooty little raven claw have deigned
to look up from my book to chip in with
something no one wanted to hear. You kept mentioning pastry
(32:37):
when you make shepherd's pie. What okay? I googled this
Apparently a long time ago it had pastry, but no
shepherds are cottage by I have ever eaten or even
heard of as pastry. After some more research and a
real roller coaster of emotion as the whole world as
I now flipped upside down, I came to a conclusion
there were once two styles of shepherd's cottage pie, Scottish
(32:59):
and Irish, and the Scottish style had pastry. This was
a huge blow, seeing as I'm Scottish and I thought
I was on the right side of history, but alas,
it's the other cells who are taking the pie world
by storm. Then I got to thinking cottage pie, which
she's on top like my dad makes it inside a
pie case. Then the whole world made sense again because
(33:21):
carves inside of carves is the Scottish way. Very wise,
very wide words. Okay, so Annie, would you would you
share with us the the level of emotion that you
experienced when you when you read this email? Why yes,
but it might blister, so step back if you need to.
(33:45):
I so I wish I had been recording my reaction
when I read this very lovely email he suggested, I'm
a Slytherin. I almost immediately responded all caps like flip
the computer. I will not stand for this outrage um.
(34:05):
But I tempered my reaction and I waited, you know,
and I just want to say to any Slytherins out there,
that's all totally cool. And Lauren, actually you were the
one who when we were in New Orleans and I
was like, oh, I'm so a griffin door and you
were like, well you are, but I think there might
(34:26):
be some Slytherin in you. And we took the test,
and I that's my second highest percentage. Um. Nevertheless, I
was definitely trolling you a little bit when I said that, um,
but not because I don't think it's true, but because
I am a little bit of a troll so that
(34:48):
I love that you know me that well. And I
just fell for it immediately, like no questions, was like
this can't be true. It was like Luke Skywalker. It
was like Skywalker moments. My, this is my whole what
if I what if I'm not who I thought I was?
Oh my gosh, Yeah, yeah, I am definitely like ridiculously
(35:14):
a Hufflepuff. Like every test I've ever taken was like,
oh dude, dude, Um, there's like a little bit of
Raven Claw in there somewhere, but like and and like
a little bit of Griffin Door and like probably not
very much Lytherin, but yeah, it's all the tests. So
it's it's very funny because I've got so many friends
who's who like change over time, and mine just like nope, yeah,
(35:37):
mine's been consistent. And I have to say, like when
I saw the percentages, I was kind of upset at
how low my percentages were for both huffle Puff and
Raby Clock and they're both five or something. I was like, really,
I don't have any like loyalty or smart or whatever.
Oh god, all four houses have of aspects of the
(36:01):
others within them. It's okay. If anyone out there has
never experienced the world of Harry Potter, you are probably
very confused, right Oh yeah yeah. I tried to explain
this to Chuck over a movie crushing. He was like,
what are you talking about? Um? I actually do think
most people have like a strong first and then a
like pretty strong second. And if you look at the
(36:22):
main three characters like Harry would be Griffin or Slytherin,
Hermiones Griffin or Raven Claw, ron Is, Griven, Rufflepuff. I
think that's just the theory of mine. But I think, yeah, yeah,
it's human human nature. You know, we're we're all we're
all a little bit a little bit of everything. It's true,
it's true. But anyway, that's our Harry Potter sidebar. We
(36:48):
had BioShock sidebar and I got any Potter sidebar. Oh,
It's like we're weird nerds. That's it's very unusual. This
never happens in these episodes. Never never um okay uh.
Olivia wrote about two years ago, y'all did an episode
on gingerbread. I don't know if y'all ran across this
in the research or had heard from another listener about it,
(37:10):
but every year there's a national Gingerbread house competition at
the Grove Park in in Asheville. For a few years
up until my mom competed every year. The last year
she managed to place in the top ten with the
Twelve Days of Christmas house pictured below. Photos of her
house where shared around so much that I can just
google twelve Days of Christmas Gingerbread house whenever I need
(37:31):
to show it off to someone for reference. The plywood
base is two ft by two foot. Uh. Some of
the edible glitter disco dust that she used for the
house is still embedded in our dining room table. I
can't remember exactly how long it took my mom to
make the house, but many contestants will start building in
the spring for the November competition. Interestingly, the house that
(37:53):
won the last year my mom competed used a brand
new technique that caused quite a stir among the competition regulars.
The house was of the three Wiseman pictured below. So
some rules of the competition are are that the house
must be at least gingerbread, and some of that gingerbread
must be visible. A lot of houses use fondentt, and
(38:13):
at first glance, that's what this house looks like. Some
of the regular competitors were complaining that was just all FONDENTT.
But that house is entirely on gingerbread, no fondent. The
lady who made it created a new technique she called
gingerbread clay. She baked sheets of gingerbread until it crumbled,
(38:34):
ran it through a mill to make a flour out
of it, and rehydrated it until it was the consistency
of clay, at which point she added coloring and molded
and baked the figures into their final form. Since we
haven't gone back to the competition after that year, I
don't know how much of an impact the technique made overall,
but in the immediate aftermath there was quite a hubub
(38:54):
about it. Love it gingerbread hubbub. Oh that's delightful, right right.
That is some savvy material science, some savvy gingerbread material science.
I bore it, I do too, and um she sent
(39:15):
us pictures and if you are looking for a rabbit hole.
We should start just having a rabbit hole of the
day recommendations and a great one. They are amazing, like stunning, stunning,
work like stuff that I definitely couldn't produce out of
any material, let alone Gingerbread. Right, I'm trying to make
(39:36):
a diorama right now for D and D and oh yeah,
I do have our super producer, Dylan gave me a
Marvel Gingerbread house kit because he's the best. Huh yeah, yeah,
And I'm trying to incorporate that into the diorama. And
I think things are getting out of hand. I'm almost
(39:58):
at the point of no return in I'm a little afraid.
Oh my gosh, Oh that is that's wonderful. Um. I mean,
I hope that you come to a place of peace
with whatever it is that you're doing with it. But
I am delighted that you're making the effort. I hope
(40:19):
I can find peace with my Avengers themes Gingerbread, D
and D. Yeah. Also, that that is a noun phrase
right there. That is a whole noun phrase that I
think you just innovated. I don't think that anyone has
ever used it before. I'm a word smith. Ye, that's
(40:44):
true poetry. What I do? Well? Oh God, both of
them for writing in. If you would like to write
to us, you can. Our email is Hello at favorite
pod dot com. You can also reach out on social media.
We are on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram at savor
pod and we do hope to hear from you. Savor
(41:05):
is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts
my heart Radio, you can visit the I heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Thanks as always to our superproducers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard.
Thanks to you for listening, and we hope that lots
more good things are coming your way.
Hello, and welcome to Sabor Protection of I Heart Radio.
I'm Annie Reese and I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today we're
talking about asparagus. Yes, thanks to Secret Mermaid, our listener
and the epic request and pictures she sent of her
in burlesque asparagus attire. I mean that is how you
(00:28):
get it to do a topic. Yeah, boy, apparently that's
all you need to do, is a burlesque routine revolving
around the food. And we will immediately jump on that topic.
We will drop everything else. This is a saver emergency.
It's time to talk about asparagus. It is, it turns
out is kind of timely because they're in season here
(00:52):
um and also associated with Easter by some folks because
of their fast springtime growth symbolizing resurrection. Yeah, definitely a
springtime kind of treat. I just cooked some some asparagus
the other day, so so it is fresh in my mind.
I definitely have a craving. I I've always liked asparagus,
(01:15):
but for some reason, like one of my main memories
of asparagus is how weird. I thought as a kid
that it was my brother's favorite vegetable. I thought that
was weird. I don't know why this is like the
thing that stands out. I definitely didn't develop an appreciation
for asparagus until I was a little bit older. Um,
(01:37):
I don't think my parents served it that often, though
I can't. I don't have very many like deep childhood
memories of asparagus. Maybe I've just blocked it out. Maybe
it just wasn't of interest to me, so I forgot
all about it until a little bit later on. But yeah, no,
I mean I I love this stuff now, and I
still feel like it's sort of like a special treat
because it can be expensive. So as I'm like, who asparagus? Like,
(01:59):
are we fancy today? Like? Wow, it does feel fancy. Right,
I'm gonna I'm hoping I can get my hands on
some soon. But alright, alright, alright, let's get your question. Yes, asparagus,
what is it? Well, asparagus is made of edible spears
(02:22):
or the part that we eat, our spears that that
shoot up from an underground um stem and root system
that all that'll go on living year after year, like
up to twenty years UM. If it is properly tended
to and if you were to let those spears keep growing. Um.
You know those like triangular scales along the shaft of asparagus. Yeah,
And and that are also like bundled together at the top.
(02:44):
That those are protective coverings for for where leafy feathered
branches would grow out of that main stem um up
to a height of like six ft or or about
two meters. And and the bundle at the top of
the spear is not a flower structure. Um. Flowers happen
on those feathery branches that you could let grow if
you wanted to. Um. And some flower structures develop into
(03:06):
red berries that should you grow them, you should not
eat because they are mildly toxic. Well there you go,
important safety tip. Um. Yeah. And we harvest and eat
asparagus spears when they're still young and unbranchy, because that
is when they are tender. If you've ever had like
a like stringy asparagus, that means it's old enough that
it's developed a tough tissue in preparation for for bearing
(03:29):
the weight of future branches. Fun thing about asparagus, the
spears will continue using their sugars to develop that tough
tissue even after you harvest them, meaning that you should
cook asparagus pretty soon after you purchase it, although keeping
it in the fridge does help stall out that development
a little bit. Left to its own devices, asparagus spears
(03:51):
will be mostly green um. And that's from the chlorophyll
that the plant creates when it's exposed to sunlight UM,
so that it can you know, turn that light into
more energy. Some varieties will take on a purplish coloring
um just on the scales or throughout. White asparagus is
specifically grown in dim or dark conditions, often in like
(04:11):
hills of soil, to prevent that chlorophyll from happening. And
that's why that's why white asparagus is more expensive. It's
more work, huh. Also not very popular in America, apparently,
like the way that people prefer it, I guess in
Germany and France. So so who knows. I have never
had asparagus. I'm trying to think if I have, and
(04:34):
I can't. I cannot remember for the life of me.
So um, maybe not, maybe I should A mystery of
Laurence history. Yeah. Absolutely, Asparagus do prefer temperate climates where
where the ground remains kind of cold into the spring,
which is when those spears shoot up, and it's enjoyed
all kinds of ways, boiled, baked, steamed in saltees and soups,
(04:57):
shaved in salads, in schnops. I've heard it's in schnops,
snaps asparagus schnops. Yes, I heard it's very zy. Huh
someone right in? Yeah? Absolutely. Um. I've also heard about
asparagus ice cream and I want to try that immediately.
It sounds so herbaceous, like semi savory, arbaceious ice cream. Yeah,
(05:19):
I do too, M craving. I didn't know I was
going to have today. Right here we are. The botanical
name for the asparagus that we're most familiar with a
garden asparagus is asparagus a fishi analis um. The word
asparagus derives from similar words for the plant, going back
to uh, the Greek asparaghos, which might have its inception
(05:40):
in a pie root, meaning to spring up. No one
is super share about that one. And the species name
of fish anais comes from the Latin term for like
the medical supply room or dispensary of monasteries um, pointing
to asparagus use in medicine. Ah. Yes, and that brings
us to the nutrition. Yesh, Asparagus is a great addition
(06:04):
to your diet. Is just packed with vitamins and minerals
and has good punches of protein and dietary fiber. It's
low and fat and calories though, so although it will
help fill you up, it's best paired with a bit
of fat and a bit more protein to help keep
you going. And traditionally it's been used to treat all
kinds of conditions. Research into its dietary uses is ongoing.
(06:26):
Bodies are complicated, More research is necessary. But one thing
that there is, as it turns out, just a lot
of research about already, is asparagus p indeed, just a
shocking amount. Oh my gosh. Okay, alright, so folks have
been researching this like like in earnesty since about the
(06:48):
nineteen fifties. So if your p smells weird after you
eat asparagus, you're not alone. Um. Asparagus contains a number
of sulfuric compounds, including one that is unique to asparagus
um aspara gussic acid asparag goosic acid. I didn't look
it up and I'm not gonna so there. Um researchers
still don't know why our body deals with this stuff
(07:11):
differently than with other sulfuric compounds, so that it is
so odorous in our urine. But if your p does
not smell weird after you eat asparagus, you are also
not alone. Researchers think that some folks just don't have
the genes that code for the right olfactory receptors in
our noses to sense these compounds. Um, And there's some
(07:34):
argument about whether some human bodies might not even create
those compounds to begin with. The general census seems to
be that it's more the sensory thing. But further um,
the genes that code for those sensory receptors in in
our in our noses have hundreds of variants across our genome.
(07:54):
This isn't like a single gene. This is like a
lot of repetition a us our genomes. So like, why
did why did our bodies decide that this was evolutionarily important?
I also, what can you do if you can't smell it?
What this is? This is not a question that I
(08:17):
came up with on my own. This would not have
occurred to me to ask. But in in a study
published in the British Medical Journal in that was looking
into these genes that are responsible for being able to
smell this um that the researchers wrote, quote, future replication
studies are necessary before considering targeted therapies to help anasmic
(08:39):
people discover what they're missing. An osmic being a people
who cannot smell this stuff. So yeah, there's if you've
never smelled asparagus p before, there's hope for you. Yet. Wow,
are there people out there that are just really bummed
that that yearning yearning they don't get this very strange aroma.
(09:02):
They'll never know, you know, I I do get it.
So I so I can't speak for anyone, I guess,
right in let us know. I mean, sure, sure, I'd
love to hear from someone who's like, one day I
hope to know what this is all about. Yeah, have
you been like just just living with the sense of
(09:23):
like like existential loss because you don't have this Like
is this is this a thing that plagues You're like
waking dreams like yes, just dreams of asparagus? Right in?
We need to know, we gosh, we do, um, but
(09:44):
what about what about some numbers? Wow? All right, well,
moving away from roma PI a roma you never know
whether it will go h China leaves the way in
asparagus production, followed by Peru and Mexico. In the United States,
it's most asparagus is grown in California and then Michigan UM,
but it has been introduced to the entire continental United
(10:05):
States and to all of Canada. The Guinness record for
the longest stock of asparagus is from two thousand four
from from from Canada and it measured over eleven feet long.
That's like three and a half meters. Wow, right, right.
And there is a very sweet story from from the
(10:27):
Southeast Iowa Union from twenty nineteen about this one gardener
I think in Washington State who had an even taller one,
but apparently it didn't make the Guinness book. You know,
I've read some criticism about the Guinness process that's a
little bit biased, but you know, but people are out
there trying for it, and I think that's what's important.
And there is a picture included with this Internet article
(10:51):
where this grower had created this wild scaffolding structure um
in order to support it, and I just I just
love everything about that. That is pretty great. I love
how because asparagus can last, like you said, fifteen to
twenty years. Some farmers call it like old friends. So
(11:14):
she built a scaffolding for her whole buddy. Yeah, well yeah,
because she she said that it was like it was
like growing like eight inches, like in in a short
like every short period of time, like a day or
like a week or something like that. And uh and
so at a certain point, you know, she was just like, well,
let's see how far this Let's see how far this
(11:36):
rabbit hole goes. Yeah, let's we approve, we approve. Oh
my gosh. Um. There are also asparagus festivals. Um. There's
one annual one in Stockton, California, Um, every April, and
it has been put off this year. Um, sadly, but
but they do when when it's back. They hold a
(11:57):
world deep fried asparagus eating Championship. Oh. The most recent
number and the largest record from which I could find
was from and professional competitive eater Joey Chestnut set the
record of twelve pounds eight point seven five of deep
fried asparagus in ten minutes. Wow. There's a lot of
(12:24):
things struggling to process with that piece of information. Yeah,
I'm still kind of stuck on the deep fried asparagus. Yeah,
I think it's like it's like whole spears that have
been breaded and deep fried, which sounds delicious, and I'm
mad that I've never eaten it. I know, my thing,
(12:44):
Why is that right? Gosh, I imagine it's like it's
like deep fried green beans, but even more like tender
and succulent. Well, now is the time for cooking projects,
oh rush, and now is the time for asparagus perfect.
(13:05):
I also wanted to put in here that this that
this annual festival also has a spear. It's of the Valley,
which is their wine and beer pavilion spear. It's that's excellent, excellent,
certainly something. I love it, and I don't care what
that says about me. Me me neither. I appreciate what
(13:31):
it says about you. Thank you, Lauren, Thank you any time.
Oh my goodness. Um, and yeah, we we do have
some some history. How how did we get here to?
These are modern times of asparagus puns and festivals. But
(13:51):
but first we've got a quick break for a word
from our sponsor, and we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes,
thank you. So we humans have been cultivating and eating
asparagus for over two thousand years but they've been kicking
(14:14):
around for at least five thousand years in the wild.
Researchers think asparagus originated in the Mediterranean and or parts
of Asia. The wild varieties have been traced back to Africa.
The crop was also probably cultivated early on in Egypt
and perhaps used medicinally or as an offering in rituals,
and the ancient Chinese would treat esteemed guest to an
(14:38):
asparagus footpath upon arrival. Oh gosh, huh, yeah, I like it. Um,
I mean not that, not that they need my approval. Um. Yeah.
Asparagus was depicted on tombs in ancient Egypt as circa
fourth century BC. The ancient Greeks ascribed medicinal value to
(14:58):
asparagus as well, and also leaved it was a yep,
you guessed it an afro d z A. I was
like shocked that this surprised me. How much of an
aphrodisiac people thought this was? Um? But okay, more on
that in a bit. Hypocrates recommended it for diarrhea, urethra
(15:18):
ailments and as a diuretic. In one area of ancient Greece,
there was a wedding tradition involving asparagus quote. After vailing
the bride, they put on her head a chaplet of asparagus.
For this plant yields the finest flavored fruit from the
roughest thorns. And so the bride will provide for him
who does not run away or feel annoyed at her
first display of peevishness and unpleasantness, a docile and sweet
(15:43):
life together. So asparagus, if you're feeling a little snappy
right now, ed asparagus, it'll be okay. Yeah, it can
heal marriages. So yep, that is the official that is
(16:04):
the science fact. Yes, yes, plenty noted about asparagus. Quote.
If a person is rubbed with asparagus beaten up in oil,
he will never be stung by bees. Now do you
imagine that this only works for as long as the
the asparagus is on you? Right? Or is it a
one time is it right? Yeah? Is it like the
(16:24):
cootie shot? Like you're right, Well, you gotta as long
as you do the complete cootie shot though, because if
you only do the first half right, it's not gonna work. Yeah. Yeah,
you have to do it for all your life. That's
very important. It's true. It's true. We've got so many
science facts for you to dig. We do you know
my favorite UM power in the video game BioShock is
(16:45):
the b one and I, oh, of course it's the best.
But I remember when I read about it was like
that sounds so silly, But then when I got it,
like no, this is great. Oh yeah, yeah, No. I've
never felt like such a gleeful maniac as when I
had the power to shoot bees at people. Yes, yes,
(17:07):
but and I loved how there was the risk of
danger too, because for anyone who hasn't played this game,
basically you can attact people with bees, but you can
also leave. You can also leave traps be traps, and
I love the danger of setting one of those and
then you're just walking to log mine your own business
and then you hear the roar of a big daddy
because he stepped into your beach trap, and then you're dead. Yeah. Um, yeah,
(17:31):
you gotta watch out. You gotta watch out for be traps.
But if we had this thing from plenty, we we
would have been safe. We clearly need to go back
into BioShock. Um And for the tinned asparagus, I'm sure
that there's some in there, Yes, yes, that's probably the
only way to protect yourself from the bees. Yeah. And
(17:53):
if it isn't already, then producers of BioShock. I'm sure
you're listening. Go on, go on and write that back
in very very important. You've got to be historically accurate here. Um.
In addition to its use as a be repellent um,
asparagus is also mentioned in the oldest surviving recipe book
(18:15):
by Epicius, You Go Asparagus. The ancient Romans aid asparagus
either as a main course or aside um. Some records
indicate that at this time, some varieties of these asparagus
were hefty, coming in at around one third of a pound.
So I can see her stock, Yeah, exactly, like it
being a whole meal. Um. Emperor Augustus loved asparagus. He
(18:37):
would send elite guards called the Asparagus Fleet, out in
search of asparagus, and then have the fastest people he
could find take the freshly harvested asparagus up into the
Alps to store them. The story goes he even coined
the saying quicker than you can cook asparagus, a saying
I've never heard, but I enjoy. Yeah, yeah, and I
(19:00):
love I love this story that this dude just had
a fleet at the ready, like as quick asparagus emergency,
go go go. Yeah, Someone's like, so what do you do?
I am in the asparagus fleet. I can only hope
it was a really esteemed position. Yeah, like like, oh,
(19:21):
you must be very fast. Gosh, exactly exactly. Apuleius, first
century poet and author of the Golden Ass, landed himself
in courts for witchcraft after he was accused of making
a love potion to woo a rich widow. Yeah, and
this potion was made up of asparagus, fish eggs, crab tails.
(19:45):
I don't know what that is, a bird's tongue, and
doves blood. But he was acquitted. Well that's good. Um.
Fun fun with language. Um in Middle English, so sometime
between like um, some folks apparently mistook asparages um asparagus
(20:08):
as a as a plural, leading to the singular asparagee
or sparag we're discussing this. Yeah, I love that, Yes,
I love the singular a sparagy. Yes, I shall take
a one asparage please, just the one, but only the
one into the position. To the Emperor of Habsburg wrote,
(20:29):
asparagus makes men have pleasant desires, yes, and this was
around the time historians think asparagus arrived in Germany, probably
through monasteries. By the sixteenth century, asparagus had made its
way to the tables of the aristocracy, and French King
Louis was a big, big fan, so much so he
(20:54):
had special greenhouses built so he could enjoy asparagus whenever
he desired. His second wife, Madame de Matino, eagerly sought
out new asparagus recipes. Asparagus was cultivated almost solely for
nobility until the eighteenth century, and this is around the
time the French cultivated variety made its way to Britain.
(21:14):
Nicholas Culpepper wrote in sixteen fifty three, A concoction of
asparagus roots boiled in wine and being taken while fasting
several mornings together stirs up lust in men or woman whatever.
Some have written to the contrary, so he was coming
out in favor. He's like, no, asparagus is an aphrodisiac.
I tell you, just mix it with some wine and
(21:37):
don't eat anything else, you know, I can see yeah, sure,
Oh my gosh. More more fun with language. From the
sixteen through the eighteen hundreds. Um, if regular folks in
the English speaking parts of the world did grow asparagus,
they might have called it sparrow grass instead. Um, asparagus
(22:01):
was considered a little bit of like a like a
hoity toity like ivory tower sort of word like like
what are you like a botanist calling it asparagus grass? Yeah? Wow,
all right. During the nineteenth century, nervous bridegrooms were advised
to eat three courses of asparagus on their wedding day
to combat performance anxiety. Okay, hmm, I think that was
(22:26):
specifically in France, but you know, European settlers brought asparagus
to the America's by the seventeen hundreds, and Thomas jeffersons
that one he loves them. He had like a whole
plot dedicated to them. Richard Bradley's seventeen nineteen guide New
Improvements of Planting and Gardening both philosophical and practical, came
(22:49):
with this quote about asparagus. The asparagus is one of
the great dainties of the spring, and what I account
to be part of the most necessary furniture of a garden.
Dainties up the spring furniture of a garden. Ha. Indeed,
that is beautiful. I'm speaking of beautiful. Um. In eighteen
(23:11):
eighty an art collector commissioned a work from from Eduard Manet,
a Bunch of Asparagus than the name of the work
is a bunch of asparagus. He commissioned it for eight
hundred francs. Manet painted the bundle of of purple tipped
white asparagus tied up a string. Um sent it on
to the collector, and the collector sent him a thousand francs.
Manett responded by sending a second, smaller still life of
(23:34):
a single asparagus spear, along with a note that said,
there was one missing from your bunch. Oh, I know,
that's so much um. And Marcel Proust work in Search
of Lost Time, collected from nine seven. He wrote, all
(23:56):
night long, after dinner at which I had partaken of asparagus,
they play ad lyrical and course, and they're jesting as
the fairies in Shakespeare's dream at transforming my chamber pot
into a vase of oz, I say, of aromatic perfume.
So people were wondering about this for a while. They
were yeah, yeah, um and man, he was apparently just
(24:17):
a big fan of asparagus. He also wrote um later
or perhaps earlier in the same I think later in
the same work, what fascinated me would be the asparagus
tinged with ultramarine and rosy pink, which ran from their heads,
finally stippled in wuave and azure through a series of
imperceptible changes to their white feet, still stained a little
(24:37):
by the soil of their garden bed, a rainbow loveliness
that was not of this world. Wow right, Wow, Okay,
I'm gonna get an asparagus and just prop it up
and get some good lighting, and I'm just gonna try
to appreciate the beauty and see if I get anywhere
near what he's writing about. I mean, I mean, I
(25:00):
think he was also talking about the white variety of
asparagus here, So maybe we're really missing out on something.
You're right, right, We need to get the world pandemic
under control. Number one, Go to France or possibly Germany. Yes,
and and three seek out some white asparagus. Possibly, go
(25:22):
to a farm where they're growing it. Reach our little
grubby hands into the into the soil. There's apparently a
specific asparagus cutter tool that you use when you're when
you're reaching in there into these hills of earth to
to pluck these white asparagus that have never seen the
light of the sun. Um, you go check it out
for ourselves. That is the only way, there is no
(25:46):
other way could get our white asparagus. That's it. I
love it, Lauren. You're always seeing clearly what needs to
be done. I can't wait to present the planned to
our boss. I am practical if nothing else, and I
think Conal will agree. I think he will because he's
(26:07):
a man of sense as well. So soon we will
understand the beauty of the white asparagus. Gosh, I hope so.
It sounds so nice. It does. But anyway, back to
the history. In the nineteen fifties, canned asparagus hint the
shelves in the US. It was pretty popular. And I'm
(26:28):
pretty sure that that's where, um, the tradition of of
asparagus casseroles in in Christmas and Thanksgiving tables came about
in in the United States because previous to that, I
can't imagine that you would have gotten that much fresh
asparagus around that time. Not nowadays, we can get it
pretty much all year round from um Northern Hemisphere places
(26:49):
in the spring and Southern Hemisphere places in the fall.
But anyway. Another literary reference in novel Love in the
Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes of a character
having this disastrous day and his only consolations to this
day being a nap um and and be the immediate
(27:10):
pleasure of smelling a secret garden in his urine that
had been purified by lukewarm asparagus. WHOA well, right, you
know that goes back to what we were saying before,
the sadness. If you can't smell this lukewarm Yeah, yeah,
according to no less than get real Garcia Marquez. Um,
(27:31):
if you're not smelling it, you are missing out. Stop
and smell the asparagus. P everyone, and then if you can't, sorry,
that's what the thing should be. Yes, I will put
it to a vote immediately. Great the savor democracy whom
(27:54):
I am not sure, but figure out the details later
m hm um. In recent asparagus news, thanks to a
few trade agreements, the amount of asparious production in the
United States has dropped sixty from two thousand four to
two thousand fourteen, and it has not rebounded. I think
(28:16):
since Yeah, gosh, yeah, it's pretty severe. There's there's a
handful of like government memos about it. Yeah yeah, and
it's it's for a lot of reasons. It's it's the
trade agreements, but also it's kind of difficult to grow,
and it does take sort of a a minute. Yeah. Yeah,
(28:38):
you're you're not supposed to really harvest um any of
it for the first year that it's grown, um, and
much at all of it for the second year that
it's grown. It's really in the third year that growers
say that it's okay to start really taking stocks off
because before then, yeah, you're you're letting that that root,
that underground stem and roots system developed so that it
(28:59):
will douce um large crops of flavorful tender shoots. Um.
So yeah, So it takes takes a minute to start up.
And and I'm sure the climate change isn't helping. Nope, nope, um.
And it is like it is the old friend. So
you have to have to be gentle with the asparagus.
(29:20):
Oh you do. You have to, you have to, you
have to take care of it. It's a it's a
long term relationship. We all need a long term relationship
with asparagus in our lives. Yes, yes, I agree. Well
that about is what we have to say an asparagus.
It is. Um. We do have a little bit more
(29:40):
for you, though, but first we've got one more quick
break for a word from our sponsor, and we're back.
Thank you, sponsor, Yes, thank you, We're back with love
(30:04):
shooting up spring. Obviously, I don't know I even have
to explain. You shouldn't you shouldn't clear, Yes, I should.
I shouldn't let people interpret it. I as an artist,
I am putting my own interpretations, and that's wrong. I
don't know. I don't think it's wrong to let people
(30:26):
know what you are thinking when yeah, yeah, the artist's intent. Yeah,
I think that's fine. I mean, like, it would be
weird if you said, if you said it before, if
you were like, now, think of this one as this
thing specifically. That would be a little bit you know,
hoity toity, not calling it an asparagus at a certain
time in history. And that's not what I want. No, no,
(30:49):
you don't want to to think that of you. No, no, never,
Sam wrote, I've been a fan of Savor food stuff
since the beginning and ever since this mad situation we
have with seaword being COVID coronavirus around the world. Right now,
I realized food is the one thing I need to
keep relatively sane and happy. I actually caught myself once
or twice thinking it's okay, as long as I have cheese, marmite,
(31:12):
bread and butter or something to make it with, I
will be absolutely fine. Now though I realized I also
need food stuff. Sorry, favorite I've written in tongues with
my mad cap usually disastrous adventures with food, and one
of my favorite sections of the podcast, alongside well what
is It? And the history is a listener male. It
(31:32):
warms the cockles of my bitter little heart now and
they hurt. People out there love food as much as
I do. As someone who works in mental health, I
totally know how difficult it must be for you too
to just carry on and keep doing what you're doing.
But you really pull it off. Thank you. It's exactly
the same as the show we've all come to new
and love. I absolutely loved the bond Me episode, and
(31:53):
I had actually made some ponds of me recently. There
I was spreading marmite on my cheese, and marmite toasty
Monstross Tod and I thought, oh my god, pan French
colonialism bond could it be? And that was almost immediately
before Lauren mentioned the exact same theory. It honestly made
these monotonous days when everything is the same just a
(32:13):
little bit special. That being said, I listened to the
meat Pies episode. Lauren, You're a hufflepuff? An argument there, Slytherin.
Oh big argument there, outrage, I well stand for it.
I once again, the snooty little raven claw have deigned
to look up from my book to chip in with
something no one wanted to hear. You kept mentioning pastry
(32:37):
when you make shepherd's pie. What okay? I googled this
Apparently a long time ago it had pastry, but no
shepherds are cottage by I have ever eaten or even
heard of as pastry. After some more research and a
real roller coaster of emotion as the whole world as
I now flipped upside down, I came to a conclusion
there were once two styles of shepherd's cottage pie, Scottish
(32:59):
and Irish, and the Scottish style had pastry. This was
a huge blow, seeing as I'm Scottish and I thought
I was on the right side of history, but alas,
it's the other cells who are taking the pie world
by storm. Then I got to thinking cottage pie, which
she's on top like my dad makes it inside a
pie case. Then the whole world made sense again because
(33:21):
carves inside of carves is the Scottish way. Very wise,
very wide words. Okay, so Annie, would you would you
share with us the the level of emotion that you
experienced when you when you read this email? Why yes,
but it might blister, so step back if you need to.
(33:45):
I so I wish I had been recording my reaction
when I read this very lovely email he suggested, I'm
a Slytherin. I almost immediately responded all caps like flip
the computer. I will not stand for this outrage um.
(34:05):
But I tempered my reaction and I waited, you know,
and I just want to say to any Slytherins out there,
that's all totally cool. And Lauren, actually you were the
one who when we were in New Orleans and I
was like, oh, I'm so a griffin door and you
were like, well you are, but I think there might
(34:26):
be some Slytherin in you. And we took the test,
and I that's my second highest percentage. Um. Nevertheless, I
was definitely trolling you a little bit when I said that, um,
but not because I don't think it's true, but because
I am a little bit of a troll so that
(34:48):
I love that you know me that well. And I
just fell for it immediately, like no questions, was like
this can't be true. It was like Luke Skywalker. It
was like Skywalker moments. My, this is my whole what
if I what if I'm not who I thought I was?
Oh my gosh, Yeah, yeah, I am definitely like ridiculously
(35:14):
a Hufflepuff. Like every test I've ever taken was like,
oh dude, dude, Um, there's like a little bit of
Raven Claw in there somewhere, but like and and like
a little bit of Griffin Door and like probably not
very much Lytherin, but yeah, it's all the tests. So
it's it's very funny because I've got so many friends
who's who like change over time, and mine just like nope, yeah,
(35:37):
mine's been consistent. And I have to say, like when
I saw the percentages, I was kind of upset at
how low my percentages were for both huffle Puff and
Raby Clock and they're both five or something. I was like, really,
I don't have any like loyalty or smart or whatever.
Oh god, all four houses have of aspects of the
(36:01):
others within them. It's okay. If anyone out there has
never experienced the world of Harry Potter, you are probably
very confused, right Oh yeah yeah. I tried to explain
this to Chuck over a movie crushing. He was like,
what are you talking about? Um? I actually do think
most people have like a strong first and then a
like pretty strong second. And if you look at the
(36:22):
main three characters like Harry would be Griffin or Slytherin,
Hermiones Griffin or Raven Claw, ron Is, Griven, Rufflepuff. I
think that's just the theory of mine. But I think, yeah, yeah,
it's human human nature. You know, we're we're all we're
all a little bit a little bit of everything. It's true,
it's true. But anyway, that's our Harry Potter sidebar. We
(36:48):
had BioShock sidebar and I got any Potter sidebar. Oh,
It's like we're weird nerds. That's it's very unusual. This
never happens in these episodes. Never never um okay uh.
Olivia wrote about two years ago, y'all did an episode
on gingerbread. I don't know if y'all ran across this
in the research or had heard from another listener about it,
(37:10):
but every year there's a national Gingerbread house competition at
the Grove Park in in Asheville. For a few years
up until my mom competed every year. The last year
she managed to place in the top ten with the
Twelve Days of Christmas house pictured below. Photos of her
house where shared around so much that I can just
google twelve Days of Christmas Gingerbread house whenever I need
(37:31):
to show it off to someone for reference. The plywood
base is two ft by two foot. Uh. Some of
the edible glitter disco dust that she used for the
house is still embedded in our dining room table. I
can't remember exactly how long it took my mom to
make the house, but many contestants will start building in
the spring for the November competition. Interestingly, the house that
(37:53):
won the last year my mom competed used a brand
new technique that caused quite a stir among the competition regulars.
The house was of the three Wiseman pictured below. So
some rules of the competition are are that the house
must be at least gingerbread, and some of that gingerbread
must be visible. A lot of houses use fondentt, and
(38:13):
at first glance, that's what this house looks like. Some
of the regular competitors were complaining that was just all FONDENTT.
But that house is entirely on gingerbread, no fondent. The
lady who made it created a new technique she called
gingerbread clay. She baked sheets of gingerbread until it crumbled,
(38:34):
ran it through a mill to make a flour out
of it, and rehydrated it until it was the consistency
of clay, at which point she added coloring and molded
and baked the figures into their final form. Since we
haven't gone back to the competition after that year, I
don't know how much of an impact the technique made overall,
but in the immediate aftermath there was quite a hubub
(38:54):
about it. Love it gingerbread hubbub. Oh that's delightful, right right.
That is some savvy material science, some savvy gingerbread material science.
I bore it, I do too, and um she sent
(39:15):
us pictures and if you are looking for a rabbit hole.
We should start just having a rabbit hole of the
day recommendations and a great one. They are amazing, like stunning, stunning,
work like stuff that I definitely couldn't produce out of
any material, let alone Gingerbread. Right, I'm trying to make
(39:36):
a diorama right now for D and D and oh yeah,
I do have our super producer, Dylan gave me a
Marvel Gingerbread house kit because he's the best. Huh yeah, yeah,
And I'm trying to incorporate that into the diorama. And
I think things are getting out of hand. I'm almost
(39:58):
at the point of no return in I'm a little afraid.
Oh my gosh, Oh that is that's wonderful. Um. I mean,
I hope that you come to a place of peace
with whatever it is that you're doing with it. But
I am delighted that you're making the effort. I hope
(40:19):
I can find peace with my Avengers themes Gingerbread, D
and D. Yeah. Also, that that is a noun phrase
right there. That is a whole noun phrase that I
think you just innovated. I don't think that anyone has
ever used it before. I'm a word smith. Ye, that's
(40:44):
true poetry. What I do? Well? Oh God, both of
them for writing in. If you would like to write
to us, you can. Our email is Hello at favorite
pod dot com. You can also reach out on social media.
We are on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram at savor
pod and we do hope to hear from you. Savor
(41:05):
is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts
my heart Radio, you can visit the I heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Thanks as always to our superproducers Dylan Fagan and Andrew Howard.
Thanks to you for listening, and we hope that lots
more good things are coming your way.
Savor News
Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Lauren Vogelbaum
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