Asparagus

But, it may be a sacrilege to eat asparagus any other way than alone, barely cooked, the head of each stalk delicately limp but firmly intact, warm, but not boiling hot, well drained and accompanied by olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper—and good sweet butter to be eaten in chunks on rough country bread.

It does no good to scrape or thinly peel asparagus with a vegetable peeler; they should be peeled with a sharp knife, starting at the cut end and terminating at the point where the skin becomes tender, so that all the fibrous material is removed and the entire stalk of tender asparagus can then be eaten, dipped repeatedly in its sauce. No cutlery is needed.