The short answer
- A few days: green asparagus upright in a little water, white wrapped in a damp tea towel, both in the fridge.
- The week ahead: peeled and trimmed, in a vacuum container in the fridge.
- Months: vacuum sealed in portions and frozen; blanching first keeps the colour and bite. Cook it straight from frozen.
- Pickled in a jar with a vinegar brine, it keeps in the fridge for salads and antipasto.
The fresher, the better
Asparagus keeps living after it's cut: it uses up its sugar, loses water and turns woody from the base. Buy spears with tight tips and moist cut ends, and store them the day you buy them. Australian asparagus is in season from about September to December, when it's at its best and cheapest for stocking up.
Four ways to keep it
1 · A few days: the fridge
Trim the ends. Stand green asparagus upright in a glass with a little water, like flowers, loosely covered with a bag. Wrap white asparagus in a damp tea towel. Both stay crisp for a few days.
2 · The week ahead: a vacuum container
Peel white asparagus completely, green only on the lower third if the skin is tough, and cut off the woody ends. Pat the spears or pieces dry and put them in a vacuum container. With the air drawn out, they stay fresh in the fridge longer than uncovered, ready for a stir-fry or a side.
Helps: G-Line glass container · Easy Pump
3 · Months: vacuum sealed and frozen
Prepare the spears the same way, seal them in meal-size portions, label them and freeze them flat. For the best colour and bite, blanch them first: 2 to 4 minutes in boiling water depending on thickness, then into iced water, and pat them completely dry. Frozen raw is quicker and fine for soups and stir-fries.
Helps: R-Vac bags · Labels
4 · Pickled in a jar
Blanch the trimmed spears for 3 to 5 minutes and cool them in iced water. Stand them in clean jars and pour over a boiling brine of equal parts vinegar and water with a little salt and sugar and spices such as mustard seed, peppercorns and dill, leaving 1–2cm at the top. Close the jars, let them cool and keep them in the fridge. Vacuum sealing the cooled jars keeps them longer.
Helps: Flex Jar-Sealer
At a glance
| Way | Prepare | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge, in water or a damp towel | Trim the ends | The next few days |
| Vacuum container, fridge | Peel, trim, pat dry | Prepared portions for the week |
| Vacuum sealed, freezer | Peel, trim, blanch if you like | Stocking up in season |
| Pickled jar, fridge | Blanch, cover with hot brine | Salads, antipasto, barbecues |
Based on LAVA's guide to storing asparagus.
Cooking frozen asparagus
- 1
Don't thaw itStraight from the freezer into boiling water, a hot pan or a steamer; thawed asparagus goes limp.
- 2
Or cook it sous videSealed with a little butter and salt, LAVA's time for fresh asparagus is 85 °C for about 35 minutes; allow longer from frozen.
Sealed fresh vegetables belong in the cold. Like any low-acid fresh food, vacuum-sealed asparagus must never be kept at room temperature: in the fridge for days, in the freezer for months.
LAVA AustraliaOfficial LAVA distributor and vacuum-packaging specialists since 2018.
