Buried Treasure: Spargel

38 Euro = 50 Dollars- for a spargel buffet!!  

For the past 3 weeks, everywhere you look there is what the Germans refer to as “edible ivory,” “white gold” or “the king of all vegetables.”  It is what I refer to as white asparagus but recently, more often Spargel.  It is Aspargus Season here, “Spargelizeit!”  There are spargel stands EVERYWHERE, every menu includes a dish including spargel (often a side dish) and of course all of the grocery stores are selling it.  I have learned that that this crop is so abundant in this part of the country that it is truly a nationwide celebration.  The end of the season is marked on June 26^th; at this time approximately 70,000 tons of the vegetable will have been harvested.  With a total value or 175 million euros, the slender stalks have become Germany’s most important cultivated product over the years.  I grew up eating green asparagus and always did like the taste of it.  I have found that white asparagus does not have as much flavor, though in order to not make any enemies I will continue to say it is delightful when asked:).  Green and white asparagus are genetically the same plant, but the white asparagus is said to have a more distinctive taste??  White asparagus is considered a delicacy due to it needing a specific combination of soil (light and sandy), the perfect amount of sunlight and temperature (hence the plastic tarps in the picture below) and rain in order to develop its unique taste.  A town 10 kilometers from our home, Schwetzingen, is known to be the “Asparagus Capital of the World.”  One particular restaurant in Schwetzingen is known for its spargel dishes; we hope to get to this restaurant before June 12^th!  Regardless of whether or not I like it (and maybe I truly just need to learn how to cook it more properly), people around here LOVE it; it has a cultural significance due to the Germans really feeling as though it is “their vegetable!” 

A magazine suggesting wrapping bacon around spargel...I think that would lose some of the nutritional benefits:)

In order to achieve the pure white spears demanded by German consumers, certain varieties of asparagus are grown underground under piles of dirt, such as these, called hillings. This way, the production of chlorophyll is inhibited and the spears don't turn green.  And the harvest is back-breaking work; the spears need to be gently freed from the surrounding dirt before being cut by hand.  As the growing and harvesting process is more time consuming and labor intensive, white asparagus is often more expensive than the green variety.

Fresh off the grill...