Une botte d'asperges

I think it was Starman who left a comment on Ken's blog recently to the effect that although he loves white asparagus, he had never seen it for sale in bunches. I've seen it for sale as loose spears of course, but around here you mostly see it bundled into what's called une botte (a bunch, a bundle, a sheaf, or a bale, like hay bales).

Most of the time a bundle weighs one kilogram. Some vendors make their bundles smaller in what I think is an attempt to fool buyers into paying more. I may have fallen for that once or twice. I try to be careful about that now.

There's a restaurant in the nearby town of Contres, between St.-Aignan and Blois, called La Botte d'Asperges (The Bunch of Asparagus). We ate there once in season, but that night their asparagus was a bit fibrous and therefore not very good. We were disappointed and haven't gone back.

The Sologne region, which is right next door to us, is known for its white asparagus this time of year.

Une botte d'asperges that I got at our Saturday market.

The same asparagus, peeled, trimmed, and ready for cooking.

White asparagus is the same plant as the green variety. The difference is that the white stuff is never allowed to see sunlight. As it grows, farmers pile up dirt to keep the shoots covered. Then when they're ready to pick, the harvest crew uses a special tool to dig out each spear by hand. This is one reason why white asparagus is not cheap. We're lucky to get good local spears in our markets sold by the people who grow them. That keeps the prices reasonable for us.

Unlike green asparagus, the white spears need to be peeled before they're cooked. The outer skin is tough and fibrous, but the inside is tender and delicious.

And here they are cooked. And they were delicious.

Carrots and leeks are often sold en bottes (in bunches). Radishes are almost always sold that way as are little bunches of herbs like parsley, cilantro, or chives. Bales of hay are called bottes de foin. And just to confuse things, une botte is also a boot -- in the American sense (what you wear on your feet), not in the British sense (the trunk of a car).