Before the advent of modern shipping it's not terribly surprising. Asparagus was once know as 'the food of kings' and has a limited growing period and requires

Before the advent of modern shipping it's not terribly surprising. Asparagus was once know as 'the food of kings' and has a limited growing period and requires a fairly large amount of land compared to what it produces. There's only really 2 harvests of asparagus possible one in early spring and the other in fall so absent modern refrigeration asparagus in the middle of winter would have been grown in a greenhouse increasing it's cost. It's easy to forget these days where we're able to get most fruits and vegetables any time of year we please thanks to shipping letting us get summer produce in winter from the opposite hemisphere but produce has definite seasons and it used to be very hard and expensive to get produce out of season.