We're right in the middle of asparagus fever. At least the Germans are. White asparagus, or "Spargel", is a specialty from April through June every year. Asparagus has been loved since Greek and Roman times, but they learned how to blanch asparagus just a hundred years ago or so. Before that all asparagus was green. Now they have even developed strains of asparagus just to be white.

I've heard tell that asparagus fields were even given as dowries, since they were so valuable. Because it's low in calories but high in labor it could only be widely grown when food was abundant or for medicinal purposes. Food has been abundant in Germany now for the last 50 years and the amount of asparagus grown there has increased steadily. Asparagus was grown on 19.6% of the farmland devoted to vegetable crops in 2005 while cabbage was grown on 20%. (source: German Office of Statistics)

Recipes with asparagus:

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Spargelessen

More about "Spargel"

Tell me about your favorite "Spargel" recipe in the German food forum!

Photo: Asparagus in the marketplace. Copyright Flickr user Petitshoo