email this pageIn the 1920s, farmer Ernest Hibbard and his friends introduced asparagus to the area that would become known as the “Asparagus Capital of the World,” producing in its heyday 50 tons of asparagus a season on 1,200 acres. Asparagus flourished in Hadley’s sandy loam, laid down in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts by receding glaciers.
Ernest’s son, Wallace Hibbard, 85, still grows asparagus and claims it’s that dirt that makes Hadley’s “grass” so good. He remembers cultivating asparagus with the help of his horse when he was a little kid. His father printed red labels branding Hibbard Farm asparagus “Hadley Queen.” Wallace still slips the cards under the rubber bands that bind each handpicked bunch of asparagus for store and restaurant buyers and local folks who buy direct from the farm.
Down the road in Sunderland, Karen and Charles Smiarowski farm 12 acres of asparagus. Karen explains that a virus devastated the region’s crop in the 1970s when 200 families grew it. Determined farmers planted a disease-resistant variety that has brought asparagus back to the status of royalty. She estimates that there are 10 major producers and many farms with acre-sized plots in the area today. “You grow asparagus because you love it,” Karen says. “It’s not just a vegetable. It’s more like a precious jewel.”
Creamy Asparagus Soup
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Ingredients
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 leek, white part only, finely chopped
1 cup chopped asparagus spears, tips reserved
2 cups lower-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 cup half-and-half
1½ teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
¼ teaspoon salt
White pepper
2. Place vegetables and broth in a food processor or blender, working in batches, if necessary. Process until smooth. Return to saucepan. Add remaining broth and half-and-half. Cook over low heat.
3. Dissolve cornstarch in water and whisk into soup. Continue stirring until soup thickens and comes to a boil. Add salt and white pepper. Reduce heat; add asparagus tips and cook 3 minutes. Serves 4.
Recipe by Jane Howard and Karl Sabo, Deerfield Inn, Relish America's Harvest, "Awash in Asparagus," May 2008.
Pickled Asparagus
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Ingredients
Juice from 1 (24-ounce) jar dill pickles
Recipe by Liz Shenk," Relish America's Harvest, "Awash in Asparagus," May 2008.
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