More than 93 per cent of Australia’s asparagus is produced in the Koo Wee Rup area of Victoria, located 65 kms south east of Melbourne. So, as the asparagus season gets underway – let’s all shout Koo Wee – Aussie spears from Koo Wee Rup are here!
Koo Wee Rup is well known for its fertile peat soils. Asparagus from this region has earned an enviable reputation for being 100 per cent clean and green and its luscious eating quality is esteemed on both domestic and global markets.
There is no better time than this year – the Australian Year of the Farmer – to support locally grown fresh produce. Like other farmers, hardworking asparagus growers face many challenging issues including seasonal variations in weather such as the recentprolonged drought followed by periods of high rainfall and flooding in the past two years (see overleaf). Added to this, the cultivation,harvesting (done by hand) and packing of asparagus are extremely labour intensive processes and once harvested, asparagus is a highlyperishable product.
Although Australian asparagus is difficult to grow, luckily for us it is soooo easy to cook.
As the clouds roll away roll out the BBQ
Asparagus lends itself to cooking on the BBQ, brightening up your BBQ fare and making eating up our vegies tastier than ever. Simply snap or trim the woody ends from the base of the spears, brush with a little olive oil and throw onto the BBQ a few minutes before you are ready to eat it. The juicy spears not only add a burst of freshness and colour to the usual BBQ offerings, they taste sensational and are good for us, too.
