White asparagus
Asparagus officinalis · Vegetable
Top 10 pairings
White asparagus is not a different plant but the same Asparagus officinalis grown entirely in the dark, so the spears never see sunlight and never make chlorophyll. The result is a thick, ivory-to-pale-cream stalk that is milder, sweeter and more tender than its green sibling — a brief springtime delicacy adored across continental Europe, where it is celebrated as Spargel, asperge and espárrago blanco.
Picking a good onedrag
Just cutWoody & ferned
Market freshBuy itFirm, tips still shut. The everyday spear: roast, griddle, blanch. Snap or trim the base and go.
TipsClosed and firm, colour dulling
SnapBends a little, then breaks
Cut endSlightly dry rim, still pale
SmellNothing much at all
These cues are Asparagus's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.
What you get from one
53%
Edible part
16 g · woody ends off
30 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 6× longer than the counter.
95–99%
Humidity
Damp, still, upright
Airflow