Albaragus Two Ways by Fred Berkmiller of l'escargot in Edinburgh
I grew up in the Loire Valley, a few miles from Tours. Each year, at the end of May, my mum would drive to Bourgeuil, a little town famous for its wines but also for its asparagus. Unlike green asparagus that we often see today, they were glorious shades of white and purple. There was always great anticipation for the asparagus season and everyone in the area looked forward to my Mum's journey. My brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles, grandmothers, neighbours and close friends would all go with my mum to get the first asparagus of the year. It had to be the first crop as it was the best, we would never settle for anything less. My mum would bring home at least 12 kilos, sometimes up to 20 kilos of asparagus when it had been an abundant crop. It would then be my Dad's role to peel them and sterilise them into le parfait jars. He did this to preserve the asparagus so that we could enjoy them all year round.
