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Asparagus
Facts About Asparagus
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- Asparagus is a vegetable
- Asparagus was first raised in Greece about 2,500 years ago!
- The name asparagus is Greek for "stalk" or "shoot". Look at a piece of asparagus and you'll understand why!
- The scientific name for asparagus is Asparagus officinalis
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- Asparagus is a member of the lily family and is related to onions, leeks, and garlic
- There are three types of asparagus - green, white and purple. Green is the most common in the United States, while the white variety is very popular in Europe
- Green asparagus has its color thanks to the process known as "photosynthesis". Do you know what that is? It's when sunlight produces a subtance called chlorophyll in the cells of plants. The chlorophyll in the cells of the plant gives asparagus its green color
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- More than 50,000 tons of asparagus covering more than 30,000 acres are grown in California every year. That's a lot of asparagus!
- Ninety percent of asparagus is eaten fresh; only 10 percent is canned or frozen
- Asparagus is a favorite vegetable in the spring
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- "Martha Washington" is one of the most popular varieties of green asparagus. Do you know who it was named after? George Washington's wife!
- Five medium spears of asparagus count as one serving of your 5 A Day
- One serving of asparagus contains just 16 calories and is a good source of folate and vitamin K
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- White asparagus has no chlorophyll because it is kept underneath the soil where the sunlight cannot reach it
- California grows about 80 percent of all the asparagus grown in the United States
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Most asparagus is eaten fresh, and about 10% is canned and frozen.
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Asparagus is a favorite vegetable in spring.
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