Fresno Famous

In researching all things asparagus for our upcoming Oh Spear Me! asparagus celebration I came across some wonderful pictures of various asparagus advetisements and asparagus paraphernalia mostly from Germany. ( google spargelzeit in images)
They go crazy for asparagus in Germany.
Is it the asparagus itself, or all the myth and legend around this most ancient vegetable prize?
Whatever the reason a lot of people devote an incredible amount of time to celebrate this delectable gem.
Down every country road roadside stands sell asparagus and the various small towns hold huge celebrations. Restaurants have special "spargel menus".

For instance, I don't think you'll be seeing the electric asparagus cooker on the shelf locally anytime soon. This thing looked like a tall skinny version of those old electric curler set ups. The extremely scary looking asparagus peeler will also not make my kitchen wish list this year. But that is only because in Germany they prefer the large white asparagus variety. (There are over 200 varieties of asparagus). As I understand it the white asparagus (deprived sunlight by mounding loose dirt over the top of them as they grow) has a much milder flavor than the green varieties more commonly found around these parts.

They also have some very amusing asparagus helper type of food items.

I really enjoy learning about different cultures through food.