All about asparagus
Everything worth knowing about this delicious vegetable.
WHICH country has the world’s most bizarre obsession with asparagus? What dessert should you eat to avoid having smelly asparagus wee? And why is this vegetable so controversial with environmentalists?
You have asparagus-shaped questions, we have asparagus-shaped answers. Here are several things worth knowing about this spring veg.
Asparagus will taste just as delicious on the barbecue, and the only thing you need to watch out for is letting it get too dry. To avoid this, you can coat it in a marinade of oil (preferably one suitable for high temperatures).
With green asparagus, you just need to trim the ends off, while white asparagus needs peeling first. Season with salt and pepper, and if you like, add some honey and lemon juice.
Green asparagus will only need 10 minutes on a hot grill, but white asparagus needs up to 25 minutes. If you pre-cook the white asparagus for about 10 minutes, you reduce the time on the barbecue.
Once on the grill, the asparagus should be turned regularly. Alternatively, you can wrap them tightly in baking paper beforehand, then they cook more evenly in their own juices and are only grilled again briefly at the end.
As delicious as asparagus might be, it does not come entirely without a conscience.
Environmentalists complain about the level of rubbish caused in asparagus production, which sees gigantic sheets of plastic effectively turning fields into deserts for months. These sealedoff fields also mean that birds and bees have lost their habitat.
Few countries worship the asparagus quite like Germany and come spring restaurants around the country begin serving their take on this semi-sacred vegetable.
Before then, German media will have begun reporting forecasts on the coming crop of “white gold” or “edible ivory,” as many fans call it when posting pictures of their first asparagus of the year on social media.
Every year the average German consumes about 1.7 kg of asparagus (mostly white – the green variety is less common in Germany), according to the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE).
Germany’s obsession with asparagus reaches its peak every year around April, when a so-called asparagus queen (“Spargelkönigin”) is crowned, with the pageant winner often seen at the many asparagus festivals held from Berlin in the north to the Black Forest in the south.
“Not liking asparagus is definitely worse than not knowing the words to the national anthem,” German news magazine Der Spiegel wrote in a hotly debated 2019 opinion piece questioning the German cult of asparagus.
The most prized dish on the menu of many restaurants in Germany come spring looks like this: white asparagus with a creamy hollandaise sauce with potatoes and sometimes meat. It’s often paired with a Riesling or Grauburgunder white wine.
As far back as 1781, US statesman Benjamin Franklin complained about a certain “disagreeable odour” caused by asparagus. Centuries later, little has changed, sadly.
We may have since put a human on the moon, eradicated smallpox and saved millions with antibiotics, but the phenomenon of asparagus wee remains as widespread as ever.
To blame here is the asparagusic acid contained in both white and green varieties of the vegetable, which gives the urine its typical asparagus smell. An enzyme releases sulphur-containing compounds, which are then excreted in the urine.
But according to the Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZFE) in Germany (again, probably the world’s most asparagus-obsessed country), only about one in two people has this enzyme in their genes. That’s why not everyone’s urine smells so strong after eating asparagus.
There is evidence that the strong smell can be reduced if you follow up your asparagus with a few strawberries, and researchers in Norway discovered (quite by chance, they say) that urine then smells less strongly of asparagus and even slightly like strawberries.
The reason for this, researchers posit, is a chemical reaction between secondary plant substances of the strawberries and protein fragments of the asparagus. This inhibits the formation of sulphur-containing compounds.
There’s one important thing to note about eating asparagus for anyone with troublesome kidneys: Because it promotes urine excretion, they would be well advised to consult their doctor before taking part in any annual asparagus feasting.
The vegetable is also rich in purines, the compound which gout patients are generally told to stay away from, or at least avoid consuming in large amounts.
Purines are broken down in the body to uric acid, which can lead to painful symptoms in those affected, says nutrition expert Christina Esser. Nevertheless, gout patients do not have to do without asparagus altogether and they can easily enjoy some as a side dish from time to time - around 200 grams per serving, says Esser.
Perhaps the best thing about this vegetable – apart from the taste – is that it’s the ultimate filler-upper. That’s because even if you’re not eating them as a side to something heartier, asparagus will leave you feeling surprisingly full for a vegetable.
Esser says this is because asparagus remains in the stomach for a comparatively long time. “That’s perfect for your figure and health,” says Esser, from the University of Applied Sciences for Health Management in Saarbruecken, Germany.