Do you love fresh asparagus? It only keeps for a few days in the refrigerator. Find out how to store asparagus so it stays fresh longer, and don’t waste it!
How to Store Asparagus
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Asparagus is just so pretty, isn’t it? It also tastes delicious! Asparagus is only in season during the spring months, and can be very hard to find other times of the year. Since it’s so seasonal, I almost look at it as a delicacy! And there is nothing worse than not getting to a bunch of asparagus soon enough, only to find that it has gone bad and needs to be thrown out. So, let’s look at the best way to store asparagus to keep it fresh as long as possible!
Are You Supposed to Refrigerate Asparagus?
Yes. Asparagus should be refrigerated. This will help it stay fresh longer. In a pinch, keep it wrapped in a breathable plastic bag (like this one) or loosely wrapped in the plastic produce bag from the grocery store and put it in the high-humidity crisper drawer in your refrigerator. Keep reading – there’s another storage tip below!
How Long Will Asparagus Stay Fresh in the Refrigerator?
Asparagus will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 2-4 days when it is stored in the crisper drawer. You can keep it a few days longer if you use the trick below.
How Can I Make Asparagus Stay Fresh Longer?
First, make sure you choose fresh asparagus when you buy it. Look for slender stems (about the size of a pencil or a little bigger). Avoid asparagus with thick stems (dime-size or bigger). Look for tops that are dry and tightly held together.
When you get home, leave the asparagus wrapped in the rubber bands. Cut off the bottom 1/2 inch of the stalks. You want to get rid of the dry ends and expose fresh ends of the stalks.
Go from ends that look like this:
To ends that look like this:
Fill a quart-size wide-mouth mason jar with 1/2 inch of water, and stand the asparagus in the jar. Loosely cover the top with the grocery store produce bag or a breathable produce bag. If you notice the water getting cloudy, change the water.
The asparagus will stay fresh and crisp in the water for up to 7 days, and sometimes longer. Don’t forget to wash it before you use it!
How Can I Tell If Asparagus is Bad?
The first part of asparagus that starts to go bad is the tops. If your asparagus has started to go bad, you’ll notice that the leaves on the top start to fall off, the heads start to droop, and then the heads feel wet and slimy. Later, the stalks will go limp and start to feel slimy. If just the tops are bad, you can trim those off and eat the stalks. But the tops are the best part, so try to use your asparagus before it goes bad!
How to Store Fresh Produce
If you’re looking for tips on storing other fresh fruits and vegetables, be sure to check out this post:
What’s your favorite springtime fruit or vegetable?
Enjoy!
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