Fantastic Vegetables & Where to Find Them

Introducing Mezzago's pink asparagus, an almost extinct variety that tastes like liquorice

Welcome to our fresh new Cabinet of Curiosities, the source for your monthly food digest and discovery of all things curious about the world of Italian food culture!

This year, alongside the newsletter, you’ll find short Morsels of stories and insights on Instagram. Both the social Morsels and the newsletter will follow a monthly theme that has the purpose of focusing our narration and uncovering even more in-depth stories.

You’ve probably realized it by now: we love celebrating our world’s vast biodiversity. Taking time to discover, taste and narrate forgotten ingredients, recipes, stories and practices. This week, Ilaria shines a light on a tender gem that grows in Milan’s industrialised hinterland, and the people who work tirelessly to protect and celebrate the delicacy.

The Art and Tradition of Pink Asparagus

By Ilaria Riva: Storyteller, on a hunt to find taste, history and natural beauty on less traveled paths around Italy.

In the verdant countryside north of Milan - for the most part an industrial region - there is an agricultural oasis. Here you can find the production of a unique product: the asparago rosa di Mezzago.

The story of this pink asparagus dates back to the early 20th century. Over the decades, local farmers mastered their techniques. They passed down their knowledge through generations, to transform  pink asparagus into an integral part of Mezzago’s cultural and agricultural identity.

Unlike its green or white counterparts, pink asparagus has a tender, almost sweet flavor with a hint of licorice, and a texture that melts in your mouth. Its rosy color, a blend of blush and cream,  stems from its unique growing process and the soil it lives in. 

Farmers cover the spears with soil as they grow, shielding them from direct sunlight, which would otherwise turn them green (similar to the more common white asparagus). Although asparagus normally prefer poor and sandy soils,  the soil in Mezzago is very rich clay with a high iron content, giving the final product a stronger taste and peculiar pink color.

This tradition, a labor of love and precision, was once threatened by the rise of industrialised agriculture. Fortunately, the local community took action, forming a cooperative of farmers with support from the municipality. Their efforts reintroduced and preserved the cultivation of Mezzago unique asparagus, recognizing it as a gastronomic treasure and promoting its protection and valorization. 

The harvest season, fleeting and precious, typically happens in May and is based on manual picking. During this time, the entire village of Mezzago celebrates the Sagra dell'Asparago Rosa, a festival that pays homage to this extraordinary vegetable with a variety of gastronomic events, cultural activities, and communal feasts. This is made possible only through the dedication of locals who volunteer to help pick the asparagus, cook it, and support the event organization.

The shared efforts of the villagers demonstrate the power of community and how collective action can protect and enhance local heritage, ensuring rich history and unique flavours endure.