It announces the return of the beautiful days and, in Alsace, is synonymous with greed. Asparagus is a local product with excellent nutritional and medicinal values.
Springtime in stems with local flavors
In Alsace, the asparagus shows its nose from the first days of April and scrolls in our plates all spring.
In 2021, the region celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the creation of the Association for the Promotion of the Asparagus of Alsace. Since 1991, a demanding approach and controls have been put in place to ensure exceptional taste and nutritional qualities.
Moreover, Alsace has a total of 225 producers!
The Association for the Promotion of Alsace Asparagus aims to promote and certify a policy of quality production.
In collaboration with Alsace Qualité, the association ensures reasoned cultivation practices, in favor of the environment, the producer and the consumer.
Three colors for one vegetable
To preserve its milky skin, white asparagus never sees the sun. On the other hand, the green remains in the open air. The more light the asparagus experiences, the more color it develops. The purple asparagus broke through the mound of earth and was not covered, thus offering itself to the sun.
Its unique taste
On the gustative level, the white asparagus of Alsace is characterized by its softness related to the loessic soil made up of silts. It can reveal a light note of hazelnut.
A little history
In France, at the end of the nineteenth century, the Alsatian pastor Louis Gustave Heyler saw in the Algerian “Sekkoum” a way to make his parish prosper.
In Hoerdt, he convinced the farmers by comparing the dry and sandy soils of the two regions. Since then, the small village of Bas-Rhin retains its status as the “first capital of asparagus”.
This vegetable obtained the rank of “luxury dishes” in the twentieth century, appearing in particular on the most prestigious menus – such as that of the first class passengers of the Titanic!
The ally of the regimes
Asparagus is mostly composed of water and half of its calories are proteins. It is rich in vitamins and antioxidants, it is particularly appreciated for its anti-aging action. The extent of its powers make it a food suitable for all diets, detox and sports.
