A friend of mine brought me a big basket full of freshly picked Asparagus from their garden. Here’s how I like to prep and store fresh Asparagus in my refrigerator. First things first. Rinse under cool water removing any dirt and debris. Any spears that have mold or blemishes…you want to discard or toss into your composting bin.
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Lay the spears on a cutting board and remove 1″ from the bottom of each spear. Discard that piece. Continue until you have all of the spears prepared.
I like to store them in a glass mason jar in my refrigerator by adding 1 to 1 1/2″ of cool water into the bottom of the jar. The depth of water depends on the length of the spears. Place the spears into the jar standing upright. Don’t over-crowd them in the jar! Allow air to circulate around them. Place a plastic freezer bag losely over-the-top of the jar. Place the jar in the refrigerator. Every day I dump out that water and add fresh water. Continue this process until you’re ready to cook them. You should be able to keep them nicely for 3-5 days using this process.
The alternative method is to wet a clean cotton towel with cool water. Wring it out. You don’t want the towel saturated, just damp. Wrap the asparagus spears in the damp towel and insert into a plastic storage bag, leaving the bag unzipped and open. Place in the refrigerator. You’ll want to use them up within 3 days using this method.
Always inspect the asparagus once you remove them from the refrigerator. Toss out any that have gotten moldy, cloudy or super-soft and mushy. You want them to still be crisp with a nice green color.