AsparagusAverage retail price per pound and per cup equivalent, 2013

Preparation Size of a Average price

Form Average retail price
yield factor cup equivalent per cup equivalent
Fresh1 $3.21 per pound 0.494 0.397 pounds $2.58
Canned2 $2.58 per pound 0.65 0.397 pounds $1.58
Frozen3 $5.86 per pound 1.034 0.397 pounds $2.25
1
Includes green asparagus. It is assumed that fresh asparagus is cooked prior to
consumption. The USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS)
indicates that preparing one ounce of raw asparagus yields 14 grams of cooked vegetable,
indicating a preparation yield of about 49 percent. This accounts for both the removal of
inedible butt ends as well as cooking loss.

2
Includes green asparagus. The liquid contents of the can are discarded prior to
consumption. Based on the Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED), ERS assumes
that 65 percent of the can's gross weight is solid and 35 percent is liquid medium. The
FPED cup equivalent weight for canned asparagus is the weight of the solids and not of
the liquid medium in which the vegetable is packed. The preparation yield factor for canned
asparagus in the above table does not account for any further preparation that occurs prior
to consumption.

3
The FNDDS reports that cooking ten ounces of frozen aparagus yields 293 grams of
cooked vegetable, indicating a preparation yield of about a 103 percent.

Source: Calculated by ERS, USDA from 2013 IRI Infoscan data; the USDA Food and
Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies, 5.0 (FNDDS); and the 2009-2010 Food Patterns
Equivalents Database (FPED) as well as the FPED's accompanying Methodology and User
Guide.