Why Germans are so in love with white asparagus, and how it is grown and cooked
Thicker than the green version, and with a more subtle taste, white asparagus is a traditional springtime favourite of cooks in Germany
Asparagus season has arrived in Germany, signalling the unofficial beginning of spring.
There is no other vegetable that Germans obsess about as much as white asparagus. They can discuss for hours whether it should be eaten with melted butter or Hollandaise sauce, served with smoked ham or schnitzel, or with a side of potatoes boiled whole or peeled, cut into slices and fried with bacon and onion.
There’s also some debate over whether you can eat the shoots with your fingers or only with a fork and knife – although traditional etiquette clearly states that using your fingers is no violation of good manners as long as you dip and clean them in a little bowl of warm water.
The only thing Germans can agree on when it comes to their favourite vegetable is that green asparagus comes nowhere close to its white companion and may as well be ignored.
“White asparagus is definitely more delicate in taste,” said Sven Sperling, 54, who was enjoying his first dish of the year at the Jakobs-Hof asparagus restaurant in Beelitz, just outside Berlin. “It’s something very special. It’s not possible to compare it to green asparagus.”