We Asked 3 Chefs How They Trim Their Asparagus — No One Had the Same Answer

There’s only one thing standing between asparagus lovers and fresh springtime dishes like Asparagus Involtini or Asparagus Caesar with Pecorino: the woody ends.

As asparagus matures and loses moisture, the bottoms of the stalks become hard, fibrous, and bitter. These woody parts are technically edible but aren’t exactly pleasurable to eat. This means that unless you get your asparagus directly from a farmer, you will likely have to trim them. 

Many cooks will simply snap off the ends at their natural breaking point, but is this really the most accurate way to trim each stalk without wasting your food? Here’s what three vegetable-loving chefs have to say.

The case for snapping

2011 F&W Best New Chef Stephanie Izard, whose latest California restaurant, Valley Goat, opens in Sunnyvale this month, snaps her spears one by one. “Not all asparagus are created equally,” she explains. “So you really have to feel around [to find] where the woody part of the stalk meets the fibrous part for the best spot to snap it. It’s a one-at-a-time kind of thing.” 

The case for cutting

At her restaurant, Myriel, in Minneapolis, 2024 F&W Best New Chef Karyn Tomlinson is lucky enough to get her asparagus from a local farmer who harvests them each morning during the season.  

But if Tomlinson is buying her asparagus elsewhere, she suggests snapping just one or two stalks. “If they’re all about the same size, I snap at least one stalk to get an idea of how far down they lose their tenderness,” she says. “From there I just cut all of them with a knife above that line.” 

Trimming all of your spears with a knife is not only faster, but can help you to control the amount you’re removing so you’re not wasting any of the vegetable. To follow this method, line up your asparagus on a cutting board, and trim them with a sharp knife just above the woody section, which is usually where the color transitions from white to green. 

The case for peeling

2022 F&W Best New Chef Damarr Brown, chef de cuisine at Virtue Restaurant in Chicago, says he cuts his stalks with a knife to prevent waste, but he takes things one step further by peeling the asparagus, which creates a more tender result.

“I think for most everyday preparation, it’s best to cut off around one inch at the bottom, and then to use a Y-peeler to take off the outer layer of the bottom half of the asparagus,” he says. “I only cut the bottom inch, because it usually remains woody no matter how much peeling you do.”

Tomlinson also opts to peel asparagus for certain dishes.“If I’m gently cooking them, I like to lightly peel the stalks to remove some bitterness,” she says.

Whatever method you choose, be sure to save the flavorful ends. “You can use [them] for making asparagus purée, or for soups,” says Tomlinson. Cook like a chef and don’t toss anything that has such good flavor — asparagus season is fleeting, after all.