The disappointment of the asparagus peas
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Vegetables | 45 comments
Photo: Asparagus peas
Initially it was the picture on the pack of the pretty pods that attracted me and when I read about flavour of these peas I was seduced.
They took ages to germinate and flower but finally three pods appeared. I rushed back to the kitchen to steam the delicacy. The pods were of varying sizes, from an inch down to half an inch.
They were vile and tasteless with a nasty scratchy texture. Danny refused to even sample one.
“Why are you trying to force me if they are so unpleasant?”
He had a point, I suppose.
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I’ve been tempted to grow them for years but always put off by the emphasis on having to pick them very young – we always aim to, but sometimes get too busy! So I’m glad to know not to bother.
Hello Allotment Blogger
Well done for trying them three times! I’m impressed at your courage.
Hi Katyvic
Having bought the seeds I’d have gone ahead anyway. But I can’t believe these are sold as vegetables. They’re a complete swizz.
Hi Magic Cochin
I followed the directions on the pack to the letter!
Whoever described them as delicious should be dragged naked around the seed factory.
Hello Helen
Yes the flowers are pretty but don’t make up for the nasty taste.
Hello Lavender and Thyme
Glad that you agree that they were nasty. All our plants have been hoicked out and replaced with mizuna.
Hi S.O.L.
Totally agree – what a waste of space. I had such great expectations too.
Hello Bridget
It’s really disappointing to grow something so pretty that tastes like pre-digested blotting paper.
Hi Kate (uk)
Your comment made us roar with laughter. Unfortunately we don’t have any one we dislike enough to torture them with these.
Yep- like eating cardboard razorblades, very pretty plants though, good for the border, NOT for eating- unless you have someone you really, really do not like over for dinner ” we just have a few of these asparagus peas, they are very rare, absurdly difficult to grow and a real delicacy, we thought we should let you have them rather than eat them ourselves….”
Yes I also grew them last season and was disappointed, they were a waste of garden space. What a shame, they sounded so nice from the description! All a learning curve though eh.
Grew them last year! Awful vile things. Waste of garden space!!!! LOL
I too was seduced by the idea of them, but what a total waste of time they were. Only produced a few pods (only a handful germinated) and they were well frankly akin to eating spiky cardboard.
So glad I’m not the only one who found them awful (I too thought it was me)
jess
Thank goodness I thought is was just me, they do have attractive flowers though!
LOL!!! the vile mutant vetchy thing!!!
Count me in with Allotment blogger and katyvic – I too kept quiet about them as I thought that you may know the secret of when to harvest and how to cook them to make them pallatable … sadly not it seems 😉
Celia
When you said you were growing these, I felt like writing and saying… DON’T! (… unless you like eating palate-lacerating tasteless razor blades, of course…)
But then I had a moment of self-doubt, and wondered whether, after all, it had been our own cultivation of these wretched things which was at fault.
Not so, it seems… Thanks for being so frank!
Fiona I love you for being so honest! We absolutely hated them too – and they were prolific podders so we had three goes at eating the harvest before we admitted defeat. They tasted rather like pencil sharpenings, in my opinion: both bland and horrible.