It's been called "the vampire of the vegetable world", but with almost religious respect.

White asparagus, one of the special delights of spring menus, is cultivated underground - with soil heaped on the eagerly growing shoots as they emerge in warming weather. Protected from sunlight, they never produce chlorophyll, so they never turn green. The technique also makes the stalks mild-tasting and very tender.

"The delicately sweet spears," notes the Eating Well newsletter, "demand kid-glove treatment in the kitchen too:

Lay spears flat on a cutting board and peel the bottom two-thirds of each spear with a vegetable peeler.

Boil in a large skillet filled with several inches of water until very tender, 10 to 20 minutes. (Don't leave them tender-crisp as you might with green asparagus.)

The traditional way to eat them is with your fingers, dipping them in hollandaise sauce.

Generating the same feverish excitement in Europe as fiddleheads and morels, white asparagus has become a global phenomenon. Popularized in Germany, where it's called "spargel", it's now grown everywhere, a fair amount even in China, where it's a real seasonal boon for small farmers. Chefs and excitable home cooks alike buy it up quickly, but the season doesn't last much longer. Chefs at many top hotels and restaurants offer white-asparagus dishes - even entire white-asparagus menus - until around the end of May.

Unlike its green-skinned counterpart, white asparagus has a tough, bitter peel that must be removed before cooking. Simple steaming or boiling are common ways to prepare the vegetable, but things can get much more elaborate. The Huffington Post once offered a dozen ways to prepare it, including with tarragon cream and bread crumbs, as a creamy soup with nutmeg, and on a pizza with black olives and goat cheese.

"Spargel" is low in calories (at least until you pour hollandaise sauce on it) and high in vitamins and minerals. In the market, look for stalks that are thick and stalky. The thicker the asparagus spears, the bigger the yield after peeling, and the easier they will be to peel.

Whether your taste runs to the simple or fancy, time is running out to enjoy this seasonal treat.

michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn