UK | Waitrose has welcomed an extra early asparagus season due to arrive in shops from eight weeks earlier than usual, with Waitrose customers able to enjoy British asparagus for even longer this year.
Sam Witherington, Waitrose Vegetable Buyer, said that Waitrose has seen phenomenal demand for asparagus already this year, with sales up 50 percent.
“We know how much our customers enjoy homegrown British asparagus, which is why we’re delighted to be the first retailer to have this year’s harvest on our shelves.”
Compared to this time last year, searches on Waitrose.com:
● ‘Asparagus’ +120 percent
● ‘Asparagus tips’ +99 percent
Over the last month, recipe searches on Waitrose.com:
● ‘Asparagus recipes’ +133 percent
● ‘Asparagus, salad onion & basil risotto’ +200 percent
● ‘Green panzanella with poppy seed croutons (with asparagus)’ +50 percent
● ‘Asparagus with green harissa & tahini’ +32 percent
“We’ve been developing our asparagus plantation and using microbiology to create the richest possible compost for our asparagus. By keeping the roots warmer throughout the winter, we’ve been able to deliver the earliest ever harvest for Waitrose,” said asparagus grower Sandy Booth of New Forest Fruit.
“By using recycled compost from our strawberry crops, we’re able to reuse around 4.5 million litres of leftover matter and use microbiology to create the richest possible compost for our asparagus.”
This first of the season UK asparagus can be found exclusively in Waitrose stores from the 26th of February, with stock availability building from March into April and full availability expected by the end of April/May.
