I was reading (or being read) Dennis’ blog and there was a comment posted by Arthur about asparagus and the cultural differences concerning those beauties. Being American I grew up with the one and only variety of Asparagus, green. The way I like them is sauteed in a little butter in a pan until they turn that bright vivid green. The nice thin ones so they stay nice and crunchy when you bite into them. I remember years ago at the supermarket in San Antonio they had a special, for the first time ever I saw a white and a purple asparagus, and my mother and I being lovers of the green devils we decided to get the white and purple as well as the green to have a taste test. So we went home with our little discovery and prepared the asparagus as we always did, sauteed with a a little butter, nice and crunchy…. I can still see us biting into the white “gold” and thinking to myself, “self, this asparagus is a little stringy and really not so good… not a repeater”.

Several years passed and I had fallen in love with a Dutch guy who tells me that Asparagus is such a specialty in the Netherlands and that his mom is making some for my visit since the first crop had come out when I had arrived. I thought, “this is going to be awesome”… I tell them that I love Asparagus, the lovely green crunchy kind and that I had tried the other kinds and found that the white just was not edible and I can’t stand mushy vegis. The looks on their faces should’ve given it away but I was so happy to have Asparagus I didn’t care. Ingrid (my mother-in-law) brings out her big white pot that looks like it could feed a small village (and she usually makes enough to do just that, the village being my husband) and takes off this lid. After the steam disappears from the top my face fell. I was greeted by a pot of white, mushy Asparagus in a creamy sauce. Being one to try new things (with a little hesitation) I took one (yes one) Asparagus on my plate and cut into it. I slowly took the fork to my mouth and started to chew. As I was chewing on this “white gold” I got to thinking that this doesn’t taste or have the texture of that white Asparagus I had oh so many years ago with my family and that this was really good. I then took a spoonful of white mush and happily finished my plate. I had then told the story of my mom and I’s attempt at white asparagus and soon learned that, unlike the green variety, the white needed to be peeled with a carrot peeler until the stalk feels silky and smooth. Ever since then I have learned different ways to cook and eat the white kind, but still I treasure the few times a year that I can get the green variety…. I also enjoy the look on the Dutch faces as I purchase them…