It’s “Spargelzeit” (asparagus season) in Berlin between April and June. This year, the unusually long winter delayed the opening of the season to April 25. But now, Spargelzeit is in full swing. The German love affair with white asparagus–not green–led to a consumption of 127,000 tons last year. You will hardly find a restaurant or roadside stand that does not feature this heavenly crop. Berlin’s finest white asparagus is grown in Beelitz, about 30 miles south of Berlin. Farmers set up huge tents along the growing fields, and carloads and busloads of asparagus aficionados enjoy the celebrated vegetable, dug fresh out of the ground.
Asparagus officinalis is native to most of Europe, northern Africa and western Asia. To cultivate it, the shoots are covered with soil as they grow. Not being exposed to sunlight, they retain their white color. Germans will tell you that the white version is more tender and less bitter than its green cousin. But it must be peeled before consumption.
The rest of Germany is crazy about asparagus as well. Many cities hold an annual “Spargelfest” (asparagus festival). Schwetzingen in the Rhein-Neckar-triangle crowns an Asparagus Queen every year. And in the Bavarian city of Nuernberg the fastest asparagus peelers of the region meet for annual competitions.
Asparagus is low in calories, low in sodium, a good source of vitamins and minerals, and an excellent source of dietary fiber. The easiest way to prepare it is to boil the peeled shoots briefly and to serve them with browned butter, cubed ham, and boiled potatoes.
Voila ! A delicious meal.
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Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: asparagus peeler, asparagus season, Beelitz, Berlin, Spargelzeit, white asparagus
