Can i eat slimy asparagus

It's best to cut off the tips as soon as you can before the rest of the asparagus becomes unusable as well. This is the number one thing I see when asparagus is heading south. It begins to get wrinkles in it. Even with the best storage techniques this will eventually happen to your asparagus if you don't eat it. Can you still eat it when it's wrinkly? The texture may not be as perfect and the asparagus will be more starchy. You could include it in a soup. Or I have even roasted it as this point and still it was not terrible.

Never seen this happen. Well maybe I have seen the tips get a little yellow, but if your stalks are yellow too, then I guess congratulations is in order. Asparagus isn't a vegetable like spinach, broccoli, or kale that will go yellow when bad. Verdict - I don't know how you did it. Please take a photo and tag me on Instagram. The asparagus may look fine at a glance but then you grab it as it's a limp as a wet noodle.

I would say that the same principles of wrinkly asparagus apply here. This depends a lot on how fresh it was to begin with. If you bought it from the farmer's market and it was picked that morning or the day before I could see it being your fridge for a couple weeks and be fine. The asparagus at the grocery store unless it's local may have traveled across state lines or even international borders.

The shelf life of asparagus can change quite significantly depending on how it is stored, so take note of the below estimates to know how to store the asparagus for when you want to use it:. If you are unsure as to whether or not you will use the asparagus before it goes off, or if you have got a really great deal on a whole lot of asparagus, you could choose to freeze it to keep it fresh for a much longer time.

When freezing asparagus, it will lose some of its texture and will be softer when thawed, so it will not be the best idea to eat it raw, but it can be added into other meals such as soups or stew. Choose asparagus that is fresh and which have bright green stalks, as these would freeze best and taste fresher when thawed.

The asparagus stalks can be kept in the freezer for up to 12 months , and while they will be fine to eat after this point, the quality and taste will begin to decline. Freezing the asparagus stalks on the baking sheet firsts allows them to freeze separately and not clumped together like they would have if you had just placed them into a freezer bag and frozen them that way.

As they will be frozen separately, you can reach in and grab as many as you want to use for dinner, without having to defrost the whole lot. Most people choose to cook their asparagus before eating it, but asparagus can be eaten raw as well.

Cooking does make asparagus softer and easier to eat, as it will be less fibrous and easier to digest, but eating it raw can be enjoyable as well.

To eat asparagus raw, it is advisable to peel away the woody parts of the asparagus and only eat the tender parts. You could either eat the asparagus whole or chop it into smaller pieces. If it is still too fibrous to eat plain, you can add some lemon juice or vinegar some sort of edible acidity to soften the fibers and make them easier to eat. It also adds some great flavor to the asparagus. By eating asparagus raw, you get to enjoy all of the nutritional benefits it has to offer, as some nutrients can be lost when the asparagus is cooked, steamed, or boiled.

If your asparagus has started to show signs that it is going off, there might be a chance that you can still use it. If there are some bad spots on the asparagus, before any other serious signs of spoiling appear, you can cut out these bad spots and still use the rest of the asparagus. For when you notice the tips of the asparagus begin to darken and have black spots, you can cut the tips off even though they are the best part and still use the stalks.

You should avoid eating old asparagus, especially if you notice any slimy or soft parts, or if the asparagus has an off smell and mold. It is best to not eat asparagus that shows any signs of spoiling. Not only will it have a lower nutrient content, but it will taste off and possibly even make you ill.

The quicker you can get the asparagus in the freezer, the better. Once the asparagus stalks have completely cooled, remove them from the water and allow excess moisture to drain onto a paper towel. You now have two more options: you can either freeze the asparagus spears in bulk, or you can individually quick freeze them.

To individually quick freeze asparagus, lay the washed and dried stalks out on a single layer on a baking sheet and place the entire baking sheet in the freezer. Once the asparagus stalks have been frozen this way, they can be gathered together into a bag and stored in the freezer for up to 12 months. Make sure that you remove as much air as possible from the freezer bag before storing the asparagus.

Although asparagus is most often eaten cooked and best storage practices recommend blanching or parcooking it before freezing, you can eat raw asparagus. Cooking makes the fibrous vegetable easier to digest, but it can still be consumed raw, especially if you take a couple of extra steps in preparation.

Choose only the tenderest parts of the asparagus, peel away any extra woody exterior parts of the stem, and consider grating it into smaller pieces. You can also mix it with a little lemon juice or another culinary acid like vinegar; this will help to soften the raw asparagus fibers and make it easier to digest.

Fresh asparagus can go bad very easily, but it is usually obvious when it has spoiled and is no longer good to eat. If your asparagus has gone bad it will have a strong foul smell to it and most likely also have one or two if not all of the other attributes of rotted asparagus that we went over above.

Knowing how to properly store asparagus will allow it to last you anywhere from days in the refrigerator and then you will want to use it up or freeze it in order for it not to go to waste. I have a couple of posts that you should check out on how to store asparagus and how to properly freeze asparagus that might help you in getting the most of your vegetable before it spoils. Your email address will not be published. Skip to content Asparagus is a springtime favorite vegetable and can be hard to come by in the off months.

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