Spargel appears as a signature dish in 1 Germany cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Spargel (White Asparagus) · Berlin
Spargel is Brandenburg's white asparagus, peeled thick, boiled in salted water with butter and lemon, served with hollandaise, boiled new potatoes and a slice of Schinken. May to June only.
White asparagus has been grown in Brandenburg's sandy Beelitz soil since the 17th century, when monks at Brandenburg's cloisters cultivated the spears as a Lenten food. Friedrich the Great in the 18th century made Spargel a court delicacy. Beelitz, 40km south of Berlin, became the asparagus capital of Germany in the late 19th century when railway lines connected its farms to Berlin's markets. Today, Beelitz produces 7,000 tonnes of Spargel per season. The Berlin Spargel ritual runs from late April to St John's Day on 24 June (Spargelsilvester), after which all harvesting stops by tradition. Restaurants from Lutter und Wegner to Lokal run a Spargelkarte for these eight weeks only.
Where to eat in Berlin:
- Lutter und Wegner
- Borchardt
- Lokal