[2] Three colors of asparagus (photo © Australian Asparagus Growers).

Asparagus is our favorite harbinger of spring, along with big artichokes, fava beans, green garlic, morels, nettles, ramps and spring peas (a.k.a. English or garden peas).

Once upon a time—in your mother’s, grandmother’s or great-gran’s generation, depending on your age—people who preferred fresh produce had to get their fill during the growing season. Some growing seasons were quite brief.

Imported produce had yet to emerge in the off season, to meet the demands of people who wanted asparagus—or peaches or any other fruit or vegetable—year-round. When asparagus or peaches were out of season, you could buy them canned or frozen.

Now asparagus is available year-round, imported from the Southern Hemisphere during the Northern Hemisphere’s off season. That means carbon miles, plus waning freshness as the they travel a long distance.

In the U.S., spring is the best season for fresh, affordable asparagus. April through late June is prime asparagus season, so get your fill while you can.

In the olden days, spring asparagus were served as a side or a first course: buttered spears with a wedge of lemon and/or lemon mayonnaise. They were pickled and served with cocktails, turned into soup and, for people of Italian heritage, added to pasta and risotto.

While most of the asparagus grown are green (some with green tips, some with purple tips), you can find purple and white in specialty produce stores and farmers markets.

Here are the differences among green, purple and white asparagus varieties. We’ve even seen pale pink asparagus, possibly a mutation of the purple.

Asparagus blends well with most dishes.

The asparagus plant, Asparagus officinalis, is a member of the lily family, Asparagaceae, which also includes agave, and flowering plants such as lily of the valley and star of Bethlehem. There are more than 300 species of asparagus, most of which are grown as ornamental plants.

Asparagus originated in the eastern Mediterranean region, but today is grown worldwide. It was first cultivated more than 2,000 years ago. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans prized asparagus for its unique flavor, texture and alleged medicinal qualities.

The vegetable gained popularity in France and England in the 16th Century; King Louis XIV of France enjoyed this delicacy so much that he had special greenhouses built to supply it year-round. Early colonists brought it to America.

Asparagus is a perennial plant raised in furrowed fields. It takes about three years before the plants produce asparagus. The delicate plant needs a temperate climate and requires much hand labor in all phases of cultivation. The spears are cut by hand—backbreaking work—when they reach about 9 inches in length.
 
Nutrition

Asparagus is nutritious: a good source of calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6 and zinc; and a very good source of copper, dietary fiber, folate, iron, manganese, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, protein, riboflavin, selenium, thiamin, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) and vitamin K, plus the antioxidant flavonoid rutin.

It has no fat or cholesterol and is very low in sodium. Asparagus is very low in calories (27 per cup) and contains no fat or cholesterol.

There are three varieties of asparagus—green, purple and white.

[3] Asparagus and scrambled eggs for breakfast (photo © California Avocado Commission).

[4] A first course or light lunch of asparagus, prosciutto, burrata and crostini at Barbuto Restaurant in New York City (photo © Barbuto).

[1] The first contest winner, “Bewitching,” with arugula, bacon, blackberries, spinach and two cheeses. The recipe is below (photos #1, #2and #4 © The Grilled Cheese Academy | Wisconsin Cheese).

[2] Second place goes to Grilled Cheese Benedict, with Canadian bacon, poached egg, spinach and Gouda on an English Muffin; both from The Grilled Cheese Academy.

[3] Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese from QVC’s Chef David Venable (photo © QVC).

[4] The Lisa Marie, Elvis’ favored fried PB & banana sandwich with bacon, cheese and hot fudge, from The Grilled Cheese Academy.

April is National Grilled Cheese Month, with National Grilled Cheese Day celebrated on April 12th. The featured recipe below, grilled cheese with blackberries, was the first-prize winner in a Grilled Cheese Academy competition.

If you don’t want this particular recipe, use the occasion to try some luscious new grilled cheese recipes. We have a lot of them on TheNibble.com, plus links to more of them below.

But first:

> Tips for making the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

> The year’s 27+ sandwich holidays.

> The year’s 30 cheese holidays.

> The history of the grilled cheese sandwich.

> The history of the sandwich.

> The different types of sandwiches: a photo glossary.
 
 
THE GRILLED CHEESE ACADEMY & RECIPE CONTEST

The Grilled Cheese Academy.com, a website from EatWisconsinCheese.com, is a treasure trove for lovers of grilled cheese.

Since 2012, they’ve sponsored an annual Grilled Cheese Recipe Showdown. All the winners and runners up are posted on the website, along with a myriad of fetching grilled cheese sandwiches developed by the Academy.

You can enter the contest (by May 15th) and download e-books of each year’s winners. In case you need some encouragement, the top prize is $15,000.
 
The First Prize Winner

This beauty (photo #1), called Bewitching, took the top prize in the first Showdown. It was created by Ally Phillips of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

Ally’s bewitching concoction layers fresh blackberries, peppery greens, crispy fried bacon and molten Wisconsin Gouda and Provolone.
 
 
RECIPE: BEWITCHING BLACKBERRY GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

Ingredients For 2 Sandwiches

 
Preparation

1. MIX the arugula and spinach in small bowl; set aside. Trim the crust from 3 sides of the bread slices, leaving the curved top crust attached. Butter the bread slices on one sides.

2. COAT the skillet (preferably cast iron) heavily with cooking spray and then heat it. Place 2 slices of bread, buttered-side down, in the skillet; there should be a slight sizzle. Place 5-6 blackberries in the center of each bread slice.

3. TOP the berries with a slice of Provolone. Add another handful of berries and top with Gouda for the second layer. Place 3 strips of bacon on each sandwich and place a bread slice on top, buttered-side up.

4. MELD and compact the sandwich, using a spatula to press firmly. Grill 2-3 minutes until the bottom is browned; flip and grill another 2 minutes or until the cheese is melting.

5. REMOVE the sandwiches to plates. Carefully pull back the top slices and spread the arugula and spinach mixture on top of the bacon. Replace the top, pressing down, and then flip the sandwich so the greens are on the bottom.

 
We even have a trompe-l’oeil grilled cheese: Grilled Pound Cake & Frosting that looks like grilled cheese.

And you must take a look at Denny’s Fried Cheese Melt, made with American cheese and a layer of fried mozzarella sticks.
 

[5] A personal favorite: truffle cheese with radicchio salad. Here’s the recipe (photo © Veldhuyzen Cheese).
 
 

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April 2nd is National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day. You can have PB&J oatmeal, a PB&J-stuffed omelet or PB&J-topped waffles for breakfast,. For lunch, a PB&J sandwich for lunch, and PB cake or ice cream with a jelly/preserves topping for dessert—or a piece of this peanut butter and jelly fudge.

You can make this PB&J fudge in just 8 minutes, plus 4 hours in the fridge. Then, you’re ready for snacking.

Peanut butter fudge is super-simple to make, but adding jelly makes it more fun, not to mention a perfect way to celebrate National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day.

Made with just peanut butter, jelly, confectioner’s sugar, butter, and white chocolate, this rich, yummy fudge is a treat for kids and grown-ups alike.

The recipe is from ILovePeanutButter.com, the website of Peanut Butter & Co. It was developed by Caroline Wright of TheWrightRecipes.com. She used Peanut Butter & Co.’s Smooth Operator creamy PB.
 
Below:

> Recipe #1 for PB&J fudge.

> Recipe #2 for “crunchy” PB&J fudge with added chopped peanuts.

> 12 more PB&J recipes, from oatmeal to pizza.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of peanut butter and jelly.

> The different types of jelly, jam, preserves, and other fruit spreads: a photo glossary.

> The history of peanut butter.

> The history of jelly.

> The history of sandwiches.

> The year’s 13 peanut butter holidays.

> The year’s 60+ candy holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY FUDGE

Prep time is 3 minutes, cook time is 5 minutes, plus 4 hours chilling to set.

Ingredients For 24 Pieces

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the peanut butter and butter in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium until melted; stir in the confectioners’ sugar and salt until combined.

[2] Grape jelly, a classic pairing in PB&J sandwiches, makes the fudge look a bit odd to us, but others may love the look. This is from Country Fresh Food.

[3] The prettiest peanut butter and jelly fudge. Here’s the recipe (photo © Nutriholist

3. REFRIGERATE until chilled and firm, about 4 hours. Cut into pieces. You can store fudge in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

More recipes follow.

[3] For sweet-and-salty, top the fudge with coarse-grained sea salt or kosher salt (Gemini Photo).
 
 
RECIPE #2: “CRUNCHY” PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY FUDGE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. LINE an 8-inch square pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan, ensuring that the foil is smooth to prevent creases in the fudge. Spray with cooking spray.

2. HEAT 2/3 cup of the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, just until it begins to bubble. Remove from the heat.

3. STIR in 1 cup of white chips, mixing until melted and smooth. Stir in the peanuts and almond extract. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Chill.

3. HEAT the remaining sweetened condensed milk, jelly/jam, lemon juice, and food color in 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, just until beginning to bubble. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining white chips, mixing until melted and smooth. Spread evenly over peanut butter layer. Chill 1 hour or until firm. Tip: Adding lemon juice brightens the raspberry flavor.

4. REMOVE the fudge from the pan by lifting the edges of the foil. Using a warm knife, trim the uneven edges from the fudge. Cut into 64 squares.
 
 
MORE PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY RECIPES

 
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*Why almond extract? It enhances the nutty flavor of the peanut butter—or any nut butter you substitute.
 
 

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