We love asparagus. But we don’t like having things flown halfway round the world if avoidable. So we normally only have British asparagus when it’s in season from April to June. And anyway British asparagus is far superior in terms of flavour, although it needs to be used as fresh as possible. Here are three tips.

Size. Don’t be afraid to buy thin asparagus spears – often called sprue. They’re going to be more tender, and often better flavoured, than the more ubiquitous tree trunks.

Trimming. You need to remove the bottom part of the asparagus spear as it will be relatively woody. Don’t use a knife and guess where to cut. Hold the spear at the bottom and about two-thirds of the way up and bend it sharply towards you. The bottom quarter or third will break off naturally leaving the most luscious top to eat. If you’re making vegetable stock, throw the woody base of the spears in that; otherwise compost them.

Cooking. This is a tip I recently spotted in a food magazine. So you’re cooking a pasta dish and want asparagus to go in it. The easiest way to cook the asparagus is to cut into 2-3cm lengths and add it to the cooking pasta about 2 minutes before the pasta is done. Then when the pasta is cooked you can spoon pasta and asparagus straight into the sauce (along with that all important spoonful of pasta water).