This Rare 'Asparagus' Could Cost You Thousands
No doubt about it, something about asparagus just feels high-end. It fits right in as a side dish when served with top-notch steaks and you may expect to see it on the table in your favorite elegant restaurant or at a formal dinner party.
Further adding to the exquisite nature of asparagus is its price. Compared to other veggies, asparagus is expensive, mainly because it's a pain to harvest. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, asparagus typically costs around $2.47 per cup, while broccoli costs around $0.87 per cup and cabbage costs around $0.26 per cup.
That being said, some types of asparagus are even more expensive. For instance, white asparagus is a bit pricier than green asparagus because it's rarer — but nowhere near as expensive as hop shoots, which are often referred to as "hop asparagus" (via The Guardian). So how rare are hop shoots, and how much does their scarcity affect price?
Hop shoot asparagus is wildly expensive, and for good reason
As we've already established, hop shoots are by far the most expensive variety of asparagus. Yes, these are the very same hops you may associate with breweries. But just how expensive are these shoots? According to Mast Creations, hop shoots typically cost about €1000 per kilogram — or $484 per pound. That's about $242 per cup, as compared to the $2.47 per cup for regular asparagus. This has earned hop shoots the title of
Similarly to white asparagus, one factor in determining price is hop shoots' scarcity. Another factor is the time and effort required to harvest these veggies. Hop shoots grow randomly (as opposed to in neat rows), requiring foragers to bend their bodies and scavenge for the vegetable, per The Guardian. Furthermore, because hop shoots are so tiny, you have to collect a lot more of them and that's already a back-breaking task.
With all that said and done, you can use hop shoots in several ways if you manage to get your hands on them. You can eat hop shoots raw, like in a salad or as a garnish, but you can also cook them up the same way you would regular asparagus.