Blanch Asparagus Like A Pro With This Simple Trick

The fastest, easiest way to blanch asparagus

This time of year, we eat asparagus every chance we get. We throw it on the grill, roast or blanch it to toss in a springy pasta, or serve it as a side with almost anything.

Blanching seems easy enough. Simply snap off the ends, throw the spears into boiling water then shock them in an ice bath. Sure, it sounds seamless... until you start fishing around in the water for individual spears, overcooking half of the batch, because you couldn't remove everything from the hot water in time.

We've got a better plan that not only makes it easier to handle the asparagus but also saves you the trouble of snapping off the ends.

Keep the rubber band around the asparagus and dunk the single bundle into the water.

You can fish out the bundle in one go and then cut off the softened ends in one fell swoop. It doesn't get easier or more efficient than that. Dare we call it a slam dunk?