WAITROSE has declared that it has become the first national supermarket to sell Scottish-grown asparagus in stores across the country.
The produce is the first asparagus crop to be cultivated by Angus farmer James Brunton, whose family have been growing potatoes in the region for three generations. It is claimed to be the first time that the vegetable has been growing commercially at scale for sales in supermarkets in Scotland.
Michael Jarvis of Scotty Brand, which has partnered the Brunton family to bring its Gijnlim variety of asparagus to Waitrose, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Waitrose and with the Brunton family to offer asparagus to the Scottish shopper. It is a delicious and nutritious vegetable which is low on food miles and high on taste and is an excellent addition to our range of Scottish foods.”
The asparagus season takes place in the spring, with the bulk of the crop originating from growers in England. However growing conditions are favourable in Angus because of its soil and climate. The area has a lower than average rainfall, long daylight hours during the summer, and very little frost.
Waitrose said that it usually takes three years for an asparagus plant to mature, adding that, while a commercial asparagus crop can be productive for five to seven years, a domestic crop can last for up two decades.
The retailer noted the growing popularity of the vegetable, attributed to its versatility and health benefits (it is a rich source of vitamin C and vitamin K, promotes healthy bacteria, is mildly diuretic, and helps detoxifies the body, according to the Asparagus Growers’ Association) have helped sales rise by nearly 20 per cent in the last three months.
Gary Grace, fresh produce buyer at Waitrose, said: “Growing Scottish asparagus is a labour of love. Each spear is harvested by hand when it reaches just the right height. We’re very excited about our collaboration with Scotty Brand which has made it possible for James Brunton to provide our Scottish customers with Scottish asparagus for the first time.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here