You probably know by now that asparagus has a fibrous bottom end that isn't very nice to eat. A popular method to see where the tough part ends, is to bend the asparagus at both ends to see where it naturally snaps apart.  I don't particularly like this method because you usually snap off way more than you need to. Instead, I snap off the end while holding the asparagus in the middle and at the bottom end - this way, you're only snapping off the tough bottom part. Here's how to trim asparagus:

1. Grab 1 asparagus spear from your bunch, keeping the rest of the bunch together (including the elastic bands). Hold your asparagus spear in the middle and on the bottom end; gently bend until it snaps.
2. Place your trimmed piece alongside the untrimmed bunch of asparagus.
3. Using your trimmed piece as a guide, cut the ends off of all the remaining asparagus (the elastic bands hold everything in place).
4. Remove the elastic bands.

Photography by Irene Fong