Right now it is peak season for spargel or white aspagargus, locally known as "white gold" As a matter of fact it just so happens the best quality to be found in the area is in Waldfuecht, the village next to ours. Terry and I went to a market an hour away from home a few weeks ago and laughed when we saw spargel for sale from our village! The picture below was taken from our house, you can see the asparagus is covered for protection from the sun.
The first pick of the season is much sought after and we heard excitement as the locals spoke of an early harvest this year. White asparagus is grown in deep mounds of soil to protect it from the sun, this keeps the vegetable pale. The spears are cut by hand with a special knife to avoid stalk damage, and in high season, with warm weather, farms will often harvest twice a day as growth is so fast. It is a very serious industry in Europe worth an estimated €250 million a year!
All the markets have spargel for sale and just about all the restaurants in the area currently feature a side dish, usually topped with a hollandaise sauce......... just simply delish! A mellow flavor different from the nuttier green version of asparagus we are more familiar with.
The season is kept deliberately short, weather depending (of course) normally mid-April to mid-June, this also gives the plants plenty of time to regenerate for the following year. Terry came home the other day all excited and exclaimed, " only in Europe..........would you see a guy in a speedo bathing suit picking asparagus." We grabbed our camera, but they were gone by the time we got to the fields, darn! Now that would have been a picture for the blog archives!
love and miss you all
4 comments:
I love ASS-PER-GAS and if boys are servin' in speedos, oh, for the Love of Pete I am there!!
Miss you two more than the fun you are having in Germany!
I didn't know about Spargel...Sure would love to try some!! So many different flavors for you to try.
lycb
"ASS-PER-GAS" :-) We called it 'spare grass' when we were young 'uns in Rhode Island.
Spargel is grown 'in deep mounds of soil' - does that mean it's actually covered up with dirt?
And exactly who was it that wanted the picture of the guy in the Speedo, hmmmm?????
Yes Jim the spears are grown below the surface then also covered up! Quite the process, and just wait til you hear all about the mustard plants! Keep the comments coming!
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