Camire comments on white asparagus for Tribune News Service

Mary Ellen Camire, professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Maine, spoke with the Tribune News Service for a column about white asparagus that appeared in the Portland Press Herald. White asparagus grows in the absence of light under mounds of soil so the spears don’t have the opportunity to undergo photosynthesis. Camire said the “vampire vegetable” requires a vegetable peeler because it “has a thicker skin than we’re used to with the green asparagus,” adding the white variety probably became thicker skinned because of its immersion in soil. She described the taste experience as “gentler and creamier.” Camire said there hasn’t yet been much testing of white asparagus for nutritional quality but that it’s likely similar to green asparagus—which means it’s loaded with vitamins and a good source of antioxidants, according to the article.