Locations: Woodland Gardens, Winterville, Georgia

Often the name of an episode at filming differs from the final name, or the name assigned by the Food Network. The episode name at filming is usually drawn on the refrigerator in the kitchen set, whose door surface is a chalk board. Here, viewers can see that name is Spear of Influence, a pun on sphere of influence based on the fact that asparagus shoots look like small spears. A sphere of influence, of course, is merely the area within a person's (or organization's) ability to alter or control.

Alton: Although I am no king, after a long winter of root vegetables and hard squash, I am seriously ready for the fresh, green flavor of... Good Eats!

Alton: Remember that asparagus dries from the bottom and rots from the top.

Alton: What's really cool about asparagus is that it becomes two completely different vegetables depending on whether the heat in question is wet or dry. Dry heat tends to emphasize amino acids which create flavors that are almost meaty, whereas moist cooking methods bring out the bringer, spring-like, almost grassy flavors.

Alton: Judging from the amount you chugged down, you must be carrying twins!
Lady of the Refrigerator: Oh, gosh, how dare you! (she slaps Alton's face) For that I'm going to take the rest of this tureen down to the freezer, where I'll pour myself a cold one, and enjoy the rest! (She disappears.)
Alton: Well... you know what? I'm going to let her have that, because she seems really grumpy, and I recall reading a paper about folate helping depression! Besides... I made two! Ha!

Alton: (after a pair of scientist puppets have argued over the cause of asparagus “odor” to the point of spilling the contents of their experiment) Fantastic! Now instead of smelling like springtime around here, it smells like a New York subway in August! You know, you Einsteins better get a mop and some bio-hazard baggies and sanitize my floors!

Alton: You don't have to be royalty to eat like it!

Alton states that production of the characteristic “asparagus smell” in urine is a metabolic variable based on genetics. A study reported in late 1980 in the British Medical Journal concludes that everyone who eats asparagus produces the smell but that only some can detect it - it is detection and not production that varies with genetics.

The Food Network calls this episode Age of Asparagus, which is a pun on Age of Aquarius, a song (part of a medley) released by The 5th Dimension in 1969, and created originally for a then-controversial counter-culture musical, Hair. The song, in turn, probably takes its name from the concept of astrological ages, one of which is the Age of Aquarius (each zodiacal sign has an associated age, and the current age depends on how the earth “points” relative to the Zodiac). This theory holds that we are currently in or are on the cusp of the Age of Aquarius, an age of peace and enlightenment. However, there is considerable difference of opinion among astrologers as to precisely when this age begins. Whatever one's opinion on that, the song became well-known, eventually earning Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.