Purple Asparagus

Commodity Overview

While green is the standard color of asparagus, this is purple and a little sweeter. In the times of the Greeks and Romans, it was considered the food of kings for its flavor and medicinal properties. The tips of the spears are generally preferred but the whole spear is edible.

Characteristics

Commodity: Asparagus
Category: Cooking Vegetables
Characteristics: Asparagus should be firm and blemish free with deeper color at the tips turning light purple to white at the bottom.
Appearance: Long, thin and spear-like.
Flesh: Purple outside and lighter on the inside.
Flavor: Unique and rich with slight bitterness, but sweeter than standard green
Size: About 6-12 inches long with width ranging from pencil to marker thickness
Color: Purple with darker color toward the tip
Shape: Long, thin
Suggested Preparations / Tips: They may be steamed, sauteed, grilled or blanched.
Commonly Cooked: Yes
Seed: NA
Availability: Year-round with peak supplies in the spring
Additional Notes: Photo courtesy World Variety Produce

Retail Price Data is based on USDA Specialty Crops Market News surveys. Data collection ends on the report date and encompasses ad pricing good from the Saturday before the report release date through the following Friday. Weekly data - from over 400 retailers, comprising more than 30,000 individual stores with online weekly advertised features - covers over 250 produce items. Registered (logged-in) users, can access weekly reports and additional market information.

USDA Specialty Crops Market News publishes FOB and Movement data on a daily and weekly basis. Pricing and volume information is aggregated by commodity and published weekly, subject to any source-data adjustments. Commodity data is further processed based on origin (domestic vs imports) and type (regular vs. organic). Registered (logged-in) users, can access weekly reports and additional market information.

Sun City Produce Co

Overview (10) (0) (11)

Business Type:

Wholesaler

Location HQ:

Pompano Beach, 33069 Florida

Berries:

Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Specialty Berries

Citrus:

Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges

Van Eerden Foodservice Company HQ

Overview (3) (0) (5)

Business Type:

Wholesaler

Location HQ:

Grand Rapids, 49501 Michigan

Tropical Fruit:

Bananas

Cooking Vegetables:

Potatoes

Salad Vegetables:

Lettuce, Tomatoes

Berries:

Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Gold Raspberries, Red Raspberries

The Kunkel Co Inc

Overview (5) (0) (5)

Business Type:

Broker, Wholesaler

Location HQ:

Eden Prairie, 55344 Minnesota

Berries:

Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Specialty Berries

Citrus:

Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges

Burnac Produce Ltd

Overview (4) (0) (0)

Business Type:

Importer, Wholesaler

Location HQ:

Woodbridge, L4H 3H1

Berries:

Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Specialty Berries

Citrus:

Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges

Cheney Brothers, Inc.

Overview (5) (0) (1)

Business Type:

Wholesaler

Location HQ:

Riviera Beach, 33404 Florida

Berries:

Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Specialty Berries

Citrus:

Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges

Harvest Brokerage Inc

Overview (3) (0) (0)

Business Type:

Broker

Location HQ:

Forest Park, 30297 Georgia

Berries:

Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Gold Raspberries, Red Raspberries, Strawberries, Specialty Berries, Red Currants, Kiwiberries

Martins Distribution Inc

Overview (2) (0) (0)

Business Type:

Wholesaler

Location HQ:

Charlotte, 28273-5843 North Carolina

Berries:

Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Specialty Berries

Citrus:

Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges

A & Z Produce

Overview (3) (0) (10)

Business Type:

Broker, Wholesaler

Location HQ:

North Salt Lake, 84054 Utah

Berries:

Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Gold Raspberries, Red Raspberries, Strawberries

Deciduous Fruit:

Koru Apples, Cosmic Crisp® Apples, Envy™ Apples, Jazz™ Apples

Zone 7 LLC

Overview (1) (0) (0)

Business Type:

Wholesaler

Location HQ:

Ringoes, 08551 New Jersey

Berries:

Blackberries

Cooking Vegetables:

Asparagus, Green Asparagus, White Asparagus, Purple Asparagus

Salad Vegetables:

Cucumbers, Armenian Cucumbers, Japanese Cucumbers, Lemon Cucumbers, Pickling Cucumbers

Pacific Rim Produce

Overview (3) (0) (1)

Business Type:

Exporter, Importer, Wholesaler

Location HQ:

Alameda, 94502 California

Tropical Fruit:

Avocados, Bacon Avocados, Fuerte Avocados, Gwen Avocados, Hass Avocados, Pinkerton Avocados, Reed Avocados, Zutano Avocados, Tropical Avocados

Cooking Vegetables:

Artichokes

Purple Asparagus