Editing Asparagus (section)

==== White asparagus ====

[[File:Steam-boiling_green_asparagus.jpg|thumb|Steam-boiling asparagus in a pot]]
[[File:21 05 01 Daniela Kloth Spargel MG 0720.jpg|thumb|Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce]]
White asparagus is very popular in Europe and western Asia.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}} It is produced by applying a [[Blanching (horticulture)|blanching]] technique while the asparagus shoots are growing:<ref>{{Cite book|last=Creasy|first=Rosalind|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A7SHCgAAQBAJ&q=White+asparagus+is+the+result+of+applying+a+blanching+technique&pg=PA9|title=Edible French Garden|date=1999-03-15|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-1-4629-1759-4|language=en}}</ref> the shoots are covered with soil as they grow, i.e. [[Hilling|earthed up]]; without exposure to sunlight, there is no [[photosynthesis]] and the shoots remain white. The locally cultivated so-called "white gold" or "edible ivory" asparagus, also referred to as "the royal vegetable",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eten-en-drinken.infoyo.nl/producten/14450-wit-goud-en-koningin-der-groente-vorstelijke-asperges.html|title=Wit goud en koningin der groente: vorstelijke asperges|date=20 May 2009|publisher=Infoyo (web publisher)|location=Netherlands|language=nl|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119040848/http://eten-en-drinken.infoyo.nl/producten/14450-wit-goud-en-koningin-der-groente-vorstelijke-asperges.html|archive-date=19 January 2012|access-date=26 August 2011}}</ref> is believed to be less bitter and more tender than unblanched green. Freshness is very important, and the lower ends of white asparagus must be peeled.

During the German ''Spargelsaison'' or ''Spargelzeit'' ("asparagus season" or "asparagus time"), the asparagus season that traditionally finishes on 24 June, roadside stands and open-air markets sell about half of the country's white asparagus consumption.<ref>{{cite news|last=Evans|first=Stephen|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17753372|title=Asparagus, royalty and the joys of seasonal eating|date=21 April 2012|work=BBC News|access-date=22 April 2012}}</ref>

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