To celebrate the asparagus season, we have teamed up with British Asparagus to let you know a few interesting things things about this vegetable. We also have lots of delicious recipes for you to enjoy.

1. The word asparagus comes from the Greek asparagos, meaning a shoot or sprout

2. In the 18th century, asparagus was popularly known by the name sparrow-grass

3. According to research in India in 2011, asparagus has an aphrodisiac effect on male rats

4. Asparagus used to be served before weddings in France for its supposed aphrodisiac properties

5. The ancient Greeks recommended asparagus to cure everything from toothache to heart disease

6. Asparagus was the proper name of Gus, the theatre cat in Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats by TS Eliot

7. Asparagus As A Hobby For Amateurs was an influential guide to asparagus growing written by Edward Heron-Allen in 1934…

8. …Heron-Allen was also an authority on violinmaking, palmistry and Persian poetry, as well as writing a notorious erotic science fiction story

9. We spent £22million on home-grown asparagus during last year’s asparagus season

10. You can find much more about asparagus, including recipes, at www.british-asparagus.co.uk.

“asparagus has an aphrodisiac effect on male rats” (details to be found here) 
though it should be mentioned that the research was on asparagus racemosus, which isn’t the variety we eat