Australian asparagus has a reputation for being 100 percent clean, green and safe as well as tasty, so it is a great choice for your weekend market basket. The growing, harvesting and packing of asparagus are extremely labour-intensive processes but highly important to produce its luscious eating quality. To ensure freshness, each individual spear needs to be picked by hand only when it is at just the right length, with packing on the same day.

When selecting asparagus, your chosen bunch of spears should be firm, bright, smooth and uniform in size with closed, compact tips and if you bend it, it should snap and be crisp, moist and juicy. To keep your asparagus fresh for longer wrap it in a damp tea towel and a plastic bag and store in the crisper compartment of your refrigerator.

Whether you barbecue, boil, steam, blanch or blend it, asparagus is a versatile vegetable that contains a stimulating blend of nutrients. Try some of these Australian asparagus recipes out this weekend: white asparagus with avocado coriander dip, asparagus and poached chicken salad with buttermilk dressing, asparagus arancini, asparagus and prosciutto tartlets and creamy asparagus and potato soup.

Next time you are wandering around your local market looking for seasonal produce, consider this member of the lily family and make sure the asparagus you pick up is Australian grown.