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FOOD FACTS

Vegetables

Asparagus

Asparagus

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Introduction

Varieties

Main varieties grown in Ontario are green - the Viking selections and Centennial. White asparagus accounts for only 3 acres of production.

New hybrid varieties developed at the University of Guelph, as well as New Jersey hybrids are beginning to replace these traditional types of asparagus.


Nutrition

Asparagus is a source of Vitamin C and Vitamin A, and an excellent source of folacin. One-half cup of cooked asparagus contains 24 calories.


History

For centuries, asparagus was considered a luxury and praised for its distinctive flavour by such famous figures as Julius Caesar, Louis XIV and Thomas Jefferson.

Despite this, no one is quite sure where it originated, although some believe it derived from a wild plant that grew thousands of years ago in sandy soil across northern Europe and in Britain.