How to Keep Asparagus Fresh For a Week or More

cover photo modified from jonathan_moreau

We try to eat our produce as seasonally as possible, so after a long winter of potatoes, kale and squash the sight of asparagus' bright green spears in my local produce department is enough to make me practically giddy. Sometimes in my giddy state I might pick up way more asparagus than we can eat in a couple days. So what to do?

Luckily, storing asparagus to keep it fresh for a week or more is easy peasy. All you need is a wide mouth jar or glass, the bag you brought the asparagus home in and (of course) asparagus spears.

Supplies

• Asparagus
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Wide mouth jar or glass

Directions

Get a wide mouth jar or glass and put 1/2 inch of cold water in the bottom.

Take your asparagus out of the bag and trim the bottom 1/2 to 1 inch off the spears. Do not throw away the bag. Save the trimmings to save in a stock bag or compost them. Be sure that the bottoms of the spears after trimming look green and moist. If they don't you need to keep trimming.

Stand the spears upright in your jar of water. Don't pack them too tightly. If you have to start forcing spears into the jar, it's too tight. Use additional jars as needed.

Place the jars in your refrigerator.

Loosely cover them with the bag you brought them home from the store in to keep them in a slightly humid environment.

That's it!

Be sure to check on it every 4 days or so to drain and swap out the water.

Storing asparagus this way will keep it fresh for a week or longer (sometimes for as much as two weeks if your asparagus was very fresh to begin with!). No need to worry about wasting money on asparagus that will just get slimy and end up in the trash.