Spring in Germany means it’s Spargelzeit (asparagus season) and time to cut and eat weißen Spargel or white asparagus. It might be Germany’s favorite vegetable … at least from April to June. During asparagus season, many Germans developed some kind of obsession with the ‘white gold.’ Traditionally, asparagus season ends on St. John’s Day on June 24.
Short History
Asparagus came to northern Europe with the Romans who had cultivated it and valued it for its diuretic and aphrodisiac properties. But it wasn’t until the 16th century that European royalty started eating asparagus. Since it was time and labor intense and not that common, asparagus was very expensive. It was therefore also called Weißes Gold (White Gold).
Other names are Königsgemüse (king’s vegetable), essbares Elfenbein (edible ivory), Gaumenschmeichler (palate flatterer), and Frühlingsluft in Stangen (spring air in stalks).
While many farmers started growing asparagus in the 19th century, it wasn’t until the 20th century that ‘normal’ people could afford asparagus. It was also in the 19th century that white asparagus started to be grown. Something that they happened upon by accident. Farmers covered asparagus sprouts with clay pots to protect them from insects and the cold. They noticed that the asparagus didn’t turn green but stayed white. From then on, shoots were covered with ground and are cut underground (Spargel stechen) with a special tool, the Spargelstecher (asparagus cutter).
How to Eat Spargel
To buy asparagus make sure it’s fresh (obviously). The little heads should be closed and shiny, the stalks should be firm and squeak when you rub them together. When you press the bottom juice should come out that should smell fresh and not sour. To keep it fresh, you can wrap your asparagus in a wet towel and store it in the fridge. It’ll keep another two to three days.
Unlike green asparagus, Bleichspargel (white asparagus) has to be peeled, otherwise it will have a woody (holzig) texture and taste. Some supermarkets and markets have machines that do the peeling for you. Most often the asparagus is boiled, but you can also fry or steam it.
Here are two websites (in English) with recipes for “German style” white asparagus: A Sausage has two and The Spruce Eats. For recipes in German, see Chefkoch.
How you eat white asparagus is obviously up to you but many people like it with sauce hollandaise, potatoes, and (boiled) ham or prosciutto; maybe with some fine fish or veal. It is also good as Spargelcremesuppe (creamy asparagus soup).
This is how Germany eats white asparagus (survey 2023). Percentage of surveyed people who thinks the following is a must when eating white asparagus (yellow – west, green- east):
- Sauce Hollandaise
- Potatoes
- Ham/proscuttio
- Butter
- Don’t eat asparagus
- Something else
- Don’t know/not answered
Mehr Infografiken finden Sie bei Statista 
Asparagus in Germany
Nearly every state in Germany grows asparagus, the only ones that have no or a very small production are the three city states, Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen, as well as the small state of Saarland in the southwest of Germany. There were only three countries worldwide which produced more asparagus than Germany in 2022: China, Peru, and Mexico.
Several German cities can look back on a long tradition of asparagus production and culture. They have sculptures and festivals in honor of the mighty asparagus. Many clubs all over Germany host Spargelessen, and there are German clubs in the U.S. who also offer special asparagus meals.
Germany also has several Spargelstraßen, tourist routes with an asparagus theme; the Niedersächische Spargelstraße, Spargelstraße Schleswig-Holstein, and the Badische Spargelstraße.
Mehr Infografiken finden Sie bei Statista Nienburg, Lower Saxony
Nienburg is a city in Lower Saxony and is known for its asparagus production. The city is located on the Niedersächische Spargelstraße which runs 750 km connecting major areas of asparagus production in Lower Saxony. You can find out more on their website.
Nienburg sports a fountain/sculpture of five people washing and selling asparagus showcasing the asparagus’ importance to the city. It was made in 1998 by Helge Michael Breig (1930-2020), a German painter and sculptor.
Every year, usually in May, the city hosts a Spargelfest (asparagus fest) where a show cooking takes place, the Spargelkönigin (asparagus queen) is crowned, and of course you can buy (and eat) asparagus. In 2024, the fest takes place on May 26.
Schwetzingen, Baden-Württemberg
Here we see the Spargelfrau (asparagus woman), a monument by Franz W. Müller-Steinfurth of 1990. With his realistic depiction of the woman offering asparagus to the young girl he followed the wish of the sponsor Herbert Prechtel.
The statue showcases the 350 year long history of the asparagus cultivation in Schwetzingen in Baden-Württemberg. It is located near the palace on the Schlossplatz. Tour guides dress up as the Spargelwoman and lead you through the town.
The beginning of May, the Spargelsamstag takes place, a city fest with long shopping hours and events in the heart of the city.
Schwetzingen is the starting point of the Badische Spargelstraße that is a tourist route of 136 km which ends in Bruchsal. During asparagus season you can stop at the farms and buy your asparagus directly from the field.
Sandhausen, Baden-Württemberg
Sandhausen is a small town in the heart of the Rhein-Neckar region located between Heidelberg and Mannheim. It can look back on 750 years of history and multiple sculptures pay homage to the importance of asparagus, tobacco, and hop to the region. Though the cigar factories have all closed and only a small field of hop remains which is used for demonstration purposes and to brew one special beer annually.
The Hopfenbrunnen in the town square (Lège-Cap-Ferret-Platz) includes, in addition to the hop, a sculpture of a woman with a plate of asparagus. Other sculptures in town show a Schindelmacher (shingle maker), a Wickelmacherin (woman who made/rolled the tobacco which then would be covered with the outer wrapper), and Hopfenzopfer (also Hopfenzupfer, hop pickers).
Beelitz, Brandenburg
Beelitz is a city in Brandenburg and the heart of the largest asparagus growing area in the state. Since 2013, it can call itself officially Spargelstadt (asparagus city).
The asparagus production on a larger scale started with farmer Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Herrmann in 1861.
Today, asparagus (white and green) grows on an area of 830 hectar and if you are really into Spargel and its history you can visit the Spargelmuseum (asparagus museum). On the weekend during the asparagus season (April-June), the museum offers culinary treats.
The Spargelbrunnen (asparagus fountain) located in the town of Beelitz (Kirchplatz) was made by sculptor, illustrator, caricaturist, and author Lutz Backes whose artist’s name is Bubec. He also made the bronze bust of the asparagus pioneer Herrmann. Backes made several other busts, e.g. of Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin and Heinrich Heine. But what is probably the most recognizable to you is the Puma logo he designed in 1967 for the Puma company. (He went to school with Gerd Dassler, son of Puma founder Rudolf Dassler.)
White Asparagus in Art
Once white asparagus became popular in Europe it was a short step until it was featured in food still lives. Here are some examples ranging from the 17th to the 19th century, from France (Manet, Rousseau, Bonvin), the Netherlands (Coorte), Belgium (Snijders), Spain (Arias), Austria (Schuch), and the U.S. (Harnett)
Curiosities
Spargel Sahne Likör - asparagus cream liqueur
Emilie von Gerschau as an asparagus stalk
This is a watercolored pencil drawing by Ernst Welker.
It is a portrait of Emilie Henriette Adelheid von Binzer (1801-1891), née von Gerschau, who was Welker’s student. She was a writer who published under the pseudonym “Ernst Ritter”.
Here, she is shown as an asparagus stalk with a portrait head. The caption reads “Den Spargel jeder gerne iszt [isst], Emilie gar zu länglich ist.” – Everybody likes to eat asparagus, Emilie is rather to longish/elongated.
Ernst Welker drew many people in the same style as Emilie von Gerschau. He portrayed them as a squirrel, a chair, a peacock, a dog, and a nail, among others.
Other Food
While most people eat asparagus as is, there are some dishes that incorporate asparagus in a different form. Of course there is Spargelcremesuppe (asparagus cream soup), but also Spargeltorte which is probably best translated as asparagus quiche. In recent years, fast food chains started offering Spargelburger, a hamburger topped with white asparagus.
You should also be warned that consuming a lot of asparagus might lead to your urine having an intense smell. You might have also read that eating strawberries will help with the smell (Spargel-Urin), but this actually turned out to be an Aprilscherz (April fools joke) by the Bundeszentrum für Ernährung (BZfE).
Spargeltarzan
In the German language, Spargeltarzan (lit. asparagus Tarzan) is a colloquial term for a man or boy who is tall and skinny like an asparagus stalk. Exactly, how Tarzan who is the opposite of slender or slim got associated with a skinny man is unknown. It is also not clear how derogatory the word is, it probably depends on context and what tone is used.
The English equivalent would probably be ‘beanpole’ which is also a word used in German, Bohnenstange.
Recently, a similar word has sprung up that the youth is using to insult a person who is tall, slender, and not very muscular: Lauch which means leek.
