officinalis is widely known simply as 'asparagus', and may be confused with unrelated plant species also known as 'asparagus', such as Ornithogalum pyrenaicum known as 'Prussian asparagus' for its edible shoots. The smell has been reported to be detectable 15 to 30 minutes after ingestion and subsides with a half-life of approximately four hours. The onset of the asparagus urine smell is remarkably rapid while the decline is slower. The biological mechanism for the production of these compounds is less clear. As these are more present in young asparagus, this accords with the observation that the smell is more pronounced after eating young asparagus. These compounds originate in the asparagus as asparagusic acid and its derivatives, as these are the only sulfur-containing compounds unique to asparagus. This was first investigated in 1891 by Marceli Nencki, who attributed the smell to methanethiol. A mixture of these compounds form a 'reconstituted asparagus urine' odor. Subjectively, the first two are the most pungent, while the last two (sulfur-oxidized) give a sweet aroma. Some of the volatile organic compounds responsible for the smell are: Chemistry Īsparagus foliage turns bright yellow in autumn.Ĭertain compounds in asparagus are metabolized to yield ammonia and various sulfur-containing degradation products, including various thiols and thioesters, which following consumption give urine a characteristic smell. It is treated as a distinct species, Asparagus prostratus Dumort, by some authors. prostratus (Dumort.) Corb., distinguished by its low-growing, often prostrate stems growing to only 30–70 centimetres (12–28 in) high, and shorter cladodes 2–18 mm ( 3⁄ 32– 23⁄ 32 in) long. Plants native to the western coasts of Europe (from northern Spain to northwest Germany, north Ireland, and Great Britain) are treated as Asparagus officinalis subsp. The fruit is a small red berry 6–10 mm ( 1⁄ 4– 13⁄ 32 in) in diameter, which is toxic to humans. It is usually dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, but sometimes hermaphrodite flowers are found. The flowers are bell-shaped, greenish-white to yellowish, 4.5–6.5 mm ( 3⁄ 16– 1⁄ 4 in) long, with six tepals partially fused together at the base they are produced singly or in clusters of two or three in the junctions of the branchlets. The root system, often referred to as a 'crown', is adventitious and the root type is fasciculated. The 'leaves' are in fact needle-like cladodes ( modified stems) in the axils of scale leaves they are 6–32 millimetres ( 1⁄ 4– 1 + 1⁄ 4 inches) long and 1 mm ( 1⁄ 32 in) broad, and clustered four to 15 together, in a rose-like shape. Seriously, they’re a big winner by us.Asparagus is a herbaceous, perennial plant growing to 100–150 centimetres (40–60 inches) tall, with stout stems with much-branched, feathery foliage. I could eat these every night and never know they only took 10 minutes to prepare. Note: I wouldn’t recommend preparing more than you can eat within 2-3 days because the peppers tend to get a bit soggy after that, and seafood is best fresh. If you want to take things really over the top, you can prepare these on Sunday night so you have them ready to eat during the week (see more meal prep ideas here). Fill up the peppers with the stuffing and then throw them in the oven to bake. All you need to do is a little bit of chopping. They call for ingredients that couldn’t be easier to prepare, like microwaveable brown rice and precooked shrimp (just be sure to thaw in advance). Like these Shrimp Alfredo Stuffed Peppers, for starters. That’s why I’m seriously in love with easy meals––especially those that don’t look (or taste) easy. Factor in that we both like to workout whenever we can, and, well, you can start to see why our Monday to Friday is a little crazed. My husband works at least 9 hours daily, too. In addition to blogging, I’m a full-time editor and commute 1 hour each way. We are all about quick and healthy dinners here in the DeVito household.

Best of all, they require just 10 minutes of prep!

The creamy and cheesy flavors of the sauce combine perfectly with sweet and tender shrimp, tangy red onion, wholesome brown rice, and roasted garlic. These Shrimp Alfredo Stuffed Peppers are a uniquely tasty spin on an Italian-American favorite.

Self proclaimed foodie alfredo sauce