How do you tell which part of asparagus is woody?

Asparagus is a spring treat with one awkward end. Every spear has a point where the juicy, sweet stalk turns into something stringy and tough, and nobody wants to chew through that at the table. The trick is finding the change without throwing away half of what you paid for.

What woody looks and feels like

Look at the bottom of a spear and work upwards:

• Colour. The very base is often pale, whitish or purple-tinged and dull. Further up, the stalk turns bright green and glossy.
• Texture. Press a thumbnail into the base. If it barely dents and feels dry and fibrous, it is woody. Where the nail goes in easily and the stalk feels juicy, it is tender.
• Bend. Hold the spear by both ends and flex it. The woody part resists; the tender part bends.
• The cut end. Fresh asparagus has a moist, clean cut end. A dry, shrivelled or split end means the spear has been waiting a while, and more of it will be tough.

The snap method, and its problem

Popular advice says to bend each spear until it snaps naturally, and the break will fall exactly where the woody part ends. It does break at a weak point, but in our experience it is not always the right point, and it often snaps further up than necessary, especially on thick spears. You can lose a surprising amount of good asparagus that way.

What we do instead

1. Snap one spear to see roughly where the change happens on this bunch.
2. Line up the rest with it and cut them all to the same length with a knife.
3. Check a cut end. If it still looks fibrous, trim a little more.

Spears from the same bunch are usually similar, so one test does for all of them.

When to peel

Thin spears never need peeling. Thick, chunky spears often have a tougher skin on the lower half even where the inside is tender. Lay the spear flat and run a vegetable peeler from just below the tip down to the cut end, turning it as you go. This means you can keep more of each spear and it cooks evenly from top to bottom. Peeled thick asparagus is one of the great spring luxuries, soft and almost buttery.

White asparagus is different again: its skin is tougher and is always peeled.

Using the ends

The woody ends and peelings are too tough to eat as they are, but full of asparagus flavour.

• Stock or soup. Simmer them with onion, a little celery and herbs, then strain. Use the liquid for a spring risotto or asparagus soup.
• Purée. Cook the ends until very soft, blend them and push through a sieve to remove the fibres. The smooth result thickens a soup or a sauce for pasta.
• Freeze them. Keep a bag in the freezer with other vegetable trimmings for the next batch of stock (see how to make vegetable stock with flavour).

Cooking once trimmed

Asparagus cooks quickly. Some ways we like:

• Blanched in salted water until just tender and still bright green, then dressed with lemon, olive oil and Parmigiano. See what blanching does.
• Roasted or grilled with oil and salt until lightly charred and tender.
• With eggs: a soft egg on top, or folded into a frittata.
• In risotto or pasta, with the tips added at the very end so they stay bright.

The cue for doneness is the same everywhere: the point of a knife slides into the thickest part with little resistance, and the colour is still vivid.

Storing asparagus

Keep it cool and moist. Stand the bunch upright in a little water in a jar in the fridge, like flowers, or wrap the ends in damp paper towel. Use it soon: asparagus is best within a day or two of buying.