Commercially packed #1 grade spears of asparagus cv. Guelph
Millennium were purchased from a local grower one day in
advance of each cooking day, trimmed to 22 cm in length, and
stored upright at 4 °C overnight, with the cut ends on damp
paper towels. All spears used were between 9 and 13 mm in
diameter when measured 2.5 cm from the base