White asparagus

Asperge blanche

What it is

White and green are the same plant: the spear stays white only because it is cut before it ever meets light, out of a soil ridge the grower watches for the crack that says a tip is coming. In Germany the season closes by tradition on 24 June, Johannistag, leaving the crowns the rest of the summer to feed themselves for the next year.

In the kitchen

Peel the whole spear from just under the tip down to the base, twice if the skin resists, and simmer the peelings and butt ends in the water first — that is your cooking stock. Twelve to fifteen minutes at a bare tremble; a white spear cannot be grilled, it turns fibrous and sour.

Goes with

Butter Egg Lemon Morel Cream Bayonne ham Chervil

Same species

Asparagus Purple asparagus Wild asparagus

Also used with

Almond oil Camelina oil Torta del Casar Milk-fed veal White balsamic condiment

In season alongside

Acacia honey Pauillac lamb Saltwater conger (anago) Artichoke Sweetfish (ayu) Brill

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