Metabolomics and sensory studies to uncover asparagus flavour

Abstract

1.1.Asparagus crop: the harvest and the waste-productsAsparagus officinalis (asparagus) is just one and the most well-known of ca. 300 asparagus species in Asparagaceae family (Byng et al., 2016). Asparagus is a perennial crop which is widely appreciated for its high nutritional value and the distinctive flavour of its young shoots (spears). Asparagus fields are easily spotted in the south of the Netherlands thanks to the numerous long lines of furrows and soil ridges usually covered with a black or white plastic cover in spring and summer (Figure 1. 1). These ridges are the so-called 'asparagus beds'. The name 'asparagus' derives from the Greek word 'asparagos' which comes from the Proto-Indo-European word meaning 'to spring up' (source: vocabulary.com). This is exactly what happens with the spears which, under typical spring conditions, can grow more than 5-10 cm / day.