Asparagus

Before asparagus was widely used as a food, it enjoyed a great reputation as a medicine for almost everything from toothache to heart trouble. The early Greeks and Romans enjoyed this delicious vegetable both fresh, as we do - and dried. The dried stalks were prepared by boiling them, making them perhaps the first dehydrated vegetable.

Today, many varieties are available in this country: French asparagus, of which the best known and most delicious is the Argenteuil variety; Italian asparagus or purple Genoa asparagus; Belgian asparagus; German asparagus; and finally, green asparagus, which is subdivided into two types - small, used for garnishes and known as asparagus tips, and large, which is prepared much like Argenteuil asparagus.