One interesting aspect about sharing ideas with the world is that the world shares back. We were recently contacted by Gourmet Trading Company, a source for asparagus and berries. They are in the business of searching out and selling terrific asparagus. OK, that is there sales pitch. They found our site most likely by our writings about white asparagus. What caught their attention were the variety of dishes using white and green asparagus and the photographs which documented the dishes. Anyway, they were impressed with what we were doing with asparagus and wanted to know if we were interested in using their asparagus. I spoke with Julia, a marketing manager, (I am still not sure what that is, but marketing is a whole other story) and explained our criteria for ingredients and what we were looking for in green and white asparagus. Green asparagus have been more difficult to procure, especially fat, meaty green asparagus where the act of cutting them exudes a sense of luxurious decadence, creating anticipation for that first bite.
I have gotten off on a tangent. Julia said she understood what I was looking for and wanted us to try the asparagus. I said sure and within two days a box of jumbo green asparagus arrived at our doorstep with the addition of one bunch of white asparagus, just to see what they were like. The green asparagus is some of the largest I have been able to work with and the vegetable is tender and juicy with a bright asparagus flavor. I ate one stalk raw and griddled another to make an initial taste comparison and analysis. I really like this asparagus. I also like how they shipped the asparagus with an ice pack below the stalks and a foil insulated package around the whole box. It reminded me of the first time someone wrapped a cold soda in a brown paper bag and then aluminum foil to keep the soda cold as they brown bagged their lunch. The asparagus, like the cola, staid chilled and crisp. I wonder why other companies do not package like this, especially in the dead of summer.
Our first shipment of asparagus was sent gratis so that we could work freely with the ingredient unconstrained by cost. I am looking forward to working with this asparagus and seeing what evolves. It is great to start with an incredible product.
