Should asparagus really be cooked in bunches?
You'll probably read recipes here and there explaining how to cook asparagus "en botte", i.e. in a small package (the famous "botte").
Is this really the right way to cook asparagus?
Is this really the right way to cook asparagus?
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Keywords for this post:AsparagusCookingTipBundleLegendLast modified on: May 22th 2024
Should asparagus really be cooked in bunches?
"Botte" cooking
This is a method familiar to all professional cooks when cooking asparagus: peel the asparagus, tie it together with string or a rubber band to form a small bundle, the "botte", and plunge it into boiling salted water.
Remove the bundle from the water, drain and cut the string.
Is this a good method?
This method seems like a good idea, but it's not. In practice, doing it this way leads to problems with cooking levels.- Bunching the asparagus increases the overall cooking time, with the asparagus around the edges cooking faster than the asparagus in the middle, which takes longer.
- This difference in cooking time means that some asparagus (again, those in the middle) may be overcooked, while those in the middle may be undercooked.
- If you want to check doneness with the tip of a knife, it's almost impossible with the asparagus in the center, unless you go through the asparagus in the middle.
To sum up: don't cook your asparagus in bunches, as they won't cook as evenly as conventional asparagus.
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