Asparagus, white
White asparagus is the same plant as green asparagus, grown entirely underground so it never sees sunlight and never makes chlorophyll.
That is why the spears are ivory-pale instead of green.
The flavor is milder and sweeter than green asparagus, with a faint nutty, slightly bitter edge. The texture is meatier and the fibrous skin is tougher, which changes how you handle it in the kitchen.
In Germany and across the Low Countries, it is a spring obsession. The season is short, roughly April into June, and "Spargelzeit," asparagus time, fills menus with the white spears that recipes like Spargel in Weisser Sosse celebrate.
