Shades of Asparagus

Green asparagus is the most common variety. We only eat young asparagus, which are the new shoots of the plant crown. Much of the flavor and prized texture of asparagus resides in the tips, which are comprised of leaf-like cladodes, or stems. As mature asparagus begins to bud out, the stems become woody and nearly inedible. This is particularly true of green asparagus.

White asparagus, which is more common in Europe, is more tender than green. It’s an artificially cultivated crop: the shoots are covered in soil as they grow, shielding them from sunlight and preventing the photosynthesis that would turn them green from chlorophyll. They remain white but continue to grow—a process called “blanching.” Europeans prize locally grown white asparagus as a springtime delicacy, but since there are no domestic producers in the U.S., the great majority of white asparagus available in supermarkets is imported from Peru.

Purple asparagus, a cultivar of green asparagus, gets its violet color from anthocyanins, the same pigments that give us purple cabbage, purple grapes (pretty much all other purple produce), and it’s a beneficial type of antioxidant. Once cooked, however, the purple fades to green, so we like to use it raw in salads to show off the beautiful purple color.