Sparrow Grass

Pembrokeshire asparagus on sale in Haverfordwest* farmers' market today. It's grown by a family at Manorbier in the south of the county, along with daffodils and strawberries.

'Sparrow-grass' is what the Cockney-sparrer barrow-boys used to shout in the London street markets (and may still do). It's a vernacular form of the word asparagus that's been in use as far back as the 17th century. "So home, and having brought home with me from Fenchurch Street a hundred of sparrowgrass, cost 18d." Samuel Pepys.

My bunch cost £2.50 for a baker's dozen of the spears. I'm sure someone would be able to work out the relative values but I certainly couldn't.

Traditionally the asparagus season in Britain began on St George's Day, April 23rd. Nowadays you can get it fresh all the year round, flown in from Peru, the main producer - but DON'T! Not only are the air miles inexcusable for a luxury food, but the environmental and human cost of growing it on a large scale has been disastrous. It needs vast amounts of water for irrigation which is being sourced from aquifers and rivers to such an extent that the water table in parts of Peru has plummeted. Village wells and pumps are running dry. Where people have a piped water supply the taps are dry much of the day. It is of course the poorest who are most affected and many are already leaving the land.
Read more about this here and remember next time you are tempted by the supermarket 'grass' - buy local!

* My blip from this day a year ago was taken a short distance down river from this one.