BEELITZ – Asparagus season has arrived in Germany, signaling the unofficial beginning of springtime.
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 should come with a side of potatoes boiled whole or peeled, cut into slices and fried with bacon and onion.
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There's also some debate over whether you can eat the shoots with your fingers or only with a fork and knife — though 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 favorite veggie is that green asparagus comes nowhere close to its white companion and may as well be snubbed or 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 of Berlin. "It's something very special. It’s not possible to compare it to green asparagus.”
Asparagus is known as ‘white gold’ in Germany
Beelitz is one of the most famous asparagus-growing regions in the country. The farmers in the town, which is located 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the German capital, make a good living off the “white gold” as the vegetable is sometimes called — a nod not just to its color but also its steep price. At the beginning of the season in early April it sells for up to 20 euros per kilo ($22 for two pounds).
By the end of the season in June the price tag for asparagus can go down to 10 euros per kilo — but nonetheless Spargel, as it is called in German, will not lose its air of luxury throughout the entire season.
For Germans, white asparagus is much more than just food, it's a way of life, says Jürgen Jakobs, who runs the Jakobs-Hof restaurant, a farmers store, and grows the vegetable on 25 hectares of land — about the size of 300 soccer fields.
“Eating asparagus is a celebration,” Jakobs said in a recent interview with The Associated Press as he looked over his seemingly endless fields where Romanian workers were cutting the shoots out of the ground manually.
“Asparagus is the first vegetable of spring. Asparagus is served on holidays: Easter, Mother’s Day, Whitsun,” he said. “Usually family or friends are called over and the table is set festively.”
The ancient Romans considered the veggie an aphrodisiac
The passion for the delicacy is legendary in Europe. The ancient Romans considered the vegetables an aphrodisiac and supposedly brought them to Central Europe. Here, the delicacy was initially only grown in monastery gardens and only the nobility was allowed to eat it in the Middle Ages.
It was only in the late 19th century that farmers started growing asparagus on fields and thus made it available to more people — nonetheless the vegetable still has a somewhat elitist reputation to this day.
The shoots like sandy ground, which gives them the unique sweet, almost nutty taste, said Jakobs, whose family has been cultivating the veggie for several generations.
White asparagus grows underground covered with plastic tarp — the moment it's touched by sunlight it turns violet, then green, and changes its flavor to a fuller, more bitter aroma.
Germans are the world champions in eating white asparagus
Nobody eats more white asparagus than the Germans — each citizen devours about three pounds per year, which translated to a yearly harvest volume of 105,000 metric tons last year, according to the country's Federal Statistical Office.
Germans don't export white asparagus, they eat it all themselves, but they do import it from countries like Spain or Italy, which mainly grow it for export. The imported veggies are mostly sold in supermarkets and are less expensive than the homegrown ones — but also not as refined when it comes to the flavor, said Jakobs.
White asparagus is mostly steamed in water with one tablespoon of sugar and one tablespoon of salt and — unlike its green brother — it needs to be peeled before it's cooked. Asparagus has a social component as well, because traditionally, the women of the house would sit together for hours peeling many kilos of shoots, chatting and enjoying each other's company.
Nowadays, some high-end grocery stores sell the delicacies peeled already to shorten the preparation time. Health advocates praise the low amount of calories of the watery stalks that are normally a little longer and thicker than their green brethren.
The shoots are more than just a food; they convey a way of life
However, at the end of the day nothing compares to the real, old-school experience, Sperling said, while he finished his plate with the veggies that had been freshly cut just a few hours earlier by Jakobs' team.
“Buying it fresh from the farm, peeling it yourself at home, and celebrating the preparation with the family at the weekend — it couldn’t be better,” he said, adding with a nostalgic smile that it simply tastes of “childhood memories.”