Unusual question...

... a friend just had her parents over from Germany and she brought some white asparagus with her - the season has just started! I got a kilo too - dinner saved for tonight!
Anyway, does anyone know whether anywhere in Scotland I can buy WHITE asparagus? I do not mind the green stuff, but the white is just miles better and I have never seen it anywhere over here!
Growing my own is not an option as it takes about 5 years to get a crop and also the soil condition is vital and I just don't have the kind of soil needed. My dad used to have asparagus beds (or rather, banks) and they were like 15 years old or older (the beds), and as a child I used to love going out harvesting the stuff. It seems totally unknown over here sometimes (except for in jars... which just isn't the same as fresh!)

Any hint on where to go would be appreciated!

 

have a look here, and save yourself some trouble!! http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/aa032398a.htm

and you can get the stuff here, and make it white!!
http://www.asparagus-in-kent.co.uk/

[ 25. April 2006, 06:32 PM: Message edited by: dendrobium ]

 

Hi, the white asparagus is the same as the green but grown excluding light usually by earthing up, like celery. This is more often eaten in Europe, apparently they prefer the milder flavour. I have seen them in Waitrose.
When I first started growing asparagus, I was lucky and lived near an asparagus grower who sold me 3 year old crowns which were already producing spears. But you can easily buy one year crowns from garden centres rather than growing from seed, then the wait is reduced to 2-3 years! Provided you give them plenty of plant food they aren't difficult, and as they have shallow spreading roots it's possible to make a bed for them in most gardens. Have a look at this site:
http://www.seedsofitaly.sagenet.co.uk/onions.htm

Mine are just showing their heads, I shall have to restrain myself for a bit!

 

Sorry Dendrobium, overlapped there! That kent site sounds good, I'm tempted to try some new ones!

 

Spanish supermarkets have white asparagus in jars and tins in great profusion, and very cheap too. Much easier than growing it yourself. :D

http://www.easyjet.com

:D :D :D

 

Thing is, they are not really the same. The taste is distinctly different - I like the green stuff in ragouts and bakes but not as a standalone veg, whereas the white asparagus (lovely thick spears with a beautiful mild flavour, and the heads are just divine to munch!) are best on their own, with just some hollandaise sauce and boiled potatoes sprinkled with parsley. The ones my friends mum brought along were from Morocco, a bit on the watery side but the German grown ones are still highly expensive - and still a bit rare.
I would not bother growing the green asparagus, I eat them so rarely it would not be worth the effort. And to grow the white ones takes years for the first crop...
Will now check the website... *wink*

 

Also, you get the green ones fresh all year - the white ones are in season only from 21st of April until 21st of June (a bit earlier for the Moroccan and Greek varieties). Outside these times it comes only from tins and jars and freezers - and in that state it can be like rubber sometimes and is certainly not as good!
Gosh keep your fingers crossed that I can persuade my sister to visit me during the next couple of months and bring some with her! I don't miss many things from my former life in Germany - this is one of the very few things I miss!