Friends International English Conversation Group

During our last meeting we talked about favourite meals and came across the asparagus. It is a seasonal vegetable only harvested in spring. In Germany it is a very popular dish, and grown in nearly all parts of the country, such as Brandenburg, North Rhine Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Rhineland Palatine. It is also grown in North and South Americas, Greece, Poland etc, but it is rarely consumed there. I have no notice of any British who prefer it, and a Polish Friend has told me at our meeting that it is grown there but mostly exported to Germany. Its healthy effects on the human body are undisputed.

Asparagus can be consumed either on its own or together with potatoes and/or a porc chop. Bacon goes very nicely with it, especially the bacon being wrapped around the spears. Another combination is a piece of salmon fillet going with it, so you have the taste of two extraordinary dishes in one.

Asparagus can be purchased green or with violet tips or all white and in different thicknesses. White thick evenly grown spears are the most expensive; it costs between 7 and 10 Euro per kilo, depending on its quality. For the starting soup, take the water in which you cooked the asparagus and add some salt and spices and broken asparagus (smaller pieces) to make it tasteful.

Most asparagus farms also offer an open air restaurant to consume the delicious dish right on site and stage events for their customers. So what about a day out to the South of Berlin for pure enjoyment?