With the hand on heart, Germans cannot live without asparagus (or spargel in German)!
Adhering to the farmers’ rule: “when cherries are red, spargel is dead,” the season of harvesting and eating white asparagus (spargel) begins annually in mid-April and ends on June 24th, St. John day. During this period, Germans consume approximately 70,000 tons of this elegant pale vegetable.
In ancient times, asparagus has been cherished for its delicate flavor and originally cultivated by ancient Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. Documentarily it is indicated that the roots of German asparagus were found somewhere around Stuttgart, where it has been raised since the 1500s. In the old days, it was planted exclusively for the royal and ducal Baden-Wurttemberg courts, that’s why spargel earned a nickname ‘royal vegetable’ and ‘white gold.’
Asparagus is low in calories but significantly rich in nutrients and is considered to be exceptionally healthy food. It contains Vitamins A, E, K, as well as calcium, potassium, iron, and includes mostly water, 2% protein, 4% carbohydrates and only 0.2% fats.
If you think that spargel isn't worth a trip to Lower Saxony or, for example, the highly-mentioned Baden-Wurttemberg (two most famous asparagus growing regions), millions of Germans will strongly disagree with you. Germany has the best spargel festivals ever, offering spargel queen and king awards, the fastest spargel peeler contests, many white asparagus dishes, and live music.
