Most people think of asparagus as either fresh or canned. An Ontario farmer is working to change this, and in a big way.
“We started trying out putting asparagus into different forms, starting with pickled asparagus and then asparagus soup,” said Tim Barrie, who operates Barrie’s Asparagus near Kitchener, Ont., with his wife, Libby, and four children.
“That didn’t go great, so we moved onto trying different products and finding partners to do the manufacturing … and one thing just led to another.”
Barrie, who is the third generation of Barries to grow asparagus, next began making asparagus relish, mixed pickles with various vegetables (including chunks of asparagus), asparagus salsa, asparagus chips (made from Ontario corn and asparagus), asparagus fusilli pasta and asparagus ravioli.
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The family next developed asparagus taco shells and then, by request, asparagus-wrapped chicken thighs, which are frozen and sold year-round.
Barrie then delved into the health aspects of asparagus and began making asparagus tea and asparagus soap under a new company label, Lilly Pure Naturals.
“We know asparagus is an antioxidant, is full of vitamin K and many other things that are very good for you,” said Barrie.
“We connected with a local tea maker in Cambridge and asked her if she could try putting asparagus into a tea and mixing in with other healthy ingredients. And the one thing she put in is called, Pau d’Arco’ an immunity booster.”
He said health-conscious consumers with an eye for healthy teas appreciated the option.
“So, we put Pau d’Arco into our tea and mixed in some dehydrated asparagus,” said Barrie.
“It was just something to play around with, but it’s become a staple for many people who come in and always get this tea.
“I tried to feed off the expertise of these manufacturers, as I have no clue how to make tea. I barely drink tea. But I do know how to grow asparagus and rhubarb. She (the Cambridge tea maker) knows how to make tea. So, it’s a perfect match. I give her the ingredients, she makes the product and I sell and market it to our wholesale accounts.
“A lot of customers get excited, coming in and suggest putting asparagus into something or other. And ideas don’t seem crazy after you’ve seen it work in other things.”
Barrie has a new cracker coming out that will be sold at specialty cheese shops.
“It’s such a natural fit,” he said.
“There’s very little choice of Ontario crackers out there and, because the public is asking for local, it’s pretty simple for a cheese shop in Ontario to accept our product.”
A product with habanera peppers and diced asparagus is sold in butcher shops.
“It’s like a relish you just put on the side with your meats,” he said.
“Our focus has always been Ontario and, on a lot of our products, we put the Food Land logo on it, which works well in Ontario.”
The family’s relationship with asparagus began when Barrie’s grandfather, a potato grower from Alliston, Ont., received a call from Campbell’s soup, offering him a contract to grow asparagus.
“So, if your grandparents would have had Campbell’s asparagus soup, it would have come from my grandpa’s farm in Alliston.”
Barrie’s father was a beef farmer who was hit by 20 percent interest rates in the early 1980.
“My grandpa would keep saying, ‘try asparagus, try asparagus,’ ” said Barrie.
His father eventually took the advice.
“The first year was a complete failure because of the weeds,” said Barrie.
“But he went back at it a second time and put asparagus in and he hasn’t looked back since. Next year, we’ll have been growing asparagus for 40 years.”
Barrie grows 20 to 30 acres and replenishes his crop every year. It needs to be planted one year with the first full harvest only starting in Year 3.
“So, it’s not a quick fix,” said Barrie.
“It’s a long term crop. There’s a lot of labour involved, and it’s very expensive to get into. With some of the older asparagus varieties, we’ve gotten close to 30 years and with the newer ones, its closer to around 20 years. Yield in the old days was around a ton per acre, but with today’s Millennium variety, you can get three tons an acre.”
