Asparagus is an anagram for “a sugar spa.” Washington farmers say local asparagus is as refreshing, clean, appealing and good for you as a traditional spa.

Asparagus is low in sugar and high in fiber, Vitamins A, C and K, and antioxidants, says Washington Asparagus Commission Executive Director and Pasco farmer Alan Schreiber.

“It is generally one of the most healthy things you can eat,” Schreiber says emphatically.

Washington is the largest grower of asparagus in the country. Furthermore, local chefs and farmers contend that locally grown asparagus is some of the best, if not the best, in the world, particularly at this time of the year. Asparagus harvest runs from late March through June. Some farmers pick asparagus as late as August.

Daniel Mallahan, chef and owner of Driftwood on Alki Beach, obsesses over sourcing local ingredients, in his case asparagus from Canales Produce, a tiny 15-acre farm in Concrete, Wash., owned by Mannie Canales.

“(He) grows some of the most consistent product that I’ve ever gotten,” Mallahan says. “At the beginning of the season, they are going to be young and tender. As you move into the season, that’s when you are going to have the accumulation of sugars and flavor.”

Mallahan grills it and serves it with goat’s milk, Chèvre spuma, fermented green garlic, pickled asparagus relish and Coppa made from the fatty Mangalitsa pig ($22). He is now working with Canales to grow white asparagus (green asparagus that is buried to retain a pale color) by next year.

Asparagus is versatile and can be served as a starter, an accompaniment to an entree, as a garnish on drinks and even as a dessert.

“When asparagus is ready, we put it on everything,” Pike Place Market’s Cafe Campagne chef and owner Daisley Gordon told Washington Grown (a program that promotes the state’s food and agricultural industry) in 2019. Gordon will feature an asparagus ice cream starting this week.

Schreiber recommends an asparagus cake made in the style of carrot cake, substituting asparagus for the carrots.

All locations of Duke’s Seafood serve its Famous Bloody Mary’s with two jumbo prawns and an asparagus garnish. The refreshing and hearty drink is made with Dimitri’s Bloody Mary mix.

For more traditional applications, restaurants such as Spinasse, helmed by chef Stuart Lane, serves sauteed asparagus with pea vines and basil pesto as a side dish. At its adjacent cocktail bar, Artusi, Lane serves cavatelli with asparagus, garlic & bacon as one of the pasta options.

Nathan Lockwood, chef and owner of Altura and Carrello (both on Broadway on Capitol Hill), grows two kinds of asparagus at his home garden in Shoreline. At Altura, Lockwood serves a white asparagus panna cotta with caviar as a starter, and also serves asparagus on the side of a rack of lamb entree. The asparagus ravioli is a favorite of regulars at Carrello.

“(Asparagus) is one of the first things that comes up after the winter time,” Lockwood says of the anticipation of the harvest. “We’ve been waiting for four or five months for something green to come.”

At the casual but no less gourmet and elegant Sunny Hill in Crown Hill — specializing in Detroit-style pizzas — asparagus is prepared with chickpea, pimento and preserved lemon as a shared starter.

Mutsuko Soma at Kamonegi in Wallingford gives asparagus a Japanese treatment, perfecting a crispy, toothsome, salty and delicious asparagus tempura that is served with saltwater eel, seaweed vinaigrette and seaweed salt that awakens the senses.

For home cooks, Schreiber recommends shopping for asparagus with thicker stalks and deep colors, green or purple. Chefs including Lane and Lockwood prefer the local asparagus for its quality and freshness. Many of the asparagus grown out of state and out of the country take a month to arrive in Washington after being harvested, losing moisture and flavor.

“The stuff we grow looks better and tastes better,” Schreiber says. “What we do know is that the closer to the time it has been picked to when it is consumed, the more nutritious it is. It is not rocket science that the fresher it is, the better it is.”

Asparagus is notoriously difficult to pair with wine. Wine professionals such as Advanced Sommelier Christopher Chan, executive director of the Washington Wine Guild and founder of the Seattle Wine Awards and the Oregon Wine Awards, recommends some local wines to pair with asparagus.

In particular, he touts the minerally and dry 2024 W.T. Vintners Underwood Mountain Grüner Veltliner or the bright and juicy 2024 Walla Walla Vintners Les Collines Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. For red wine drinkers, Chan recommends the 2020 Savage Grace Copeland Vineyard Cabernet Franc.