I tasted something new today and I loved it
By louievill
@louievill (28846)
Philippines
August 13, 2016 4:26am CST
I opened this bottle today that has a label " Artichoke Hearts", it's part of the large box of food stuffs my uncle sends all of us especially my mom yearly from the U.S.. This particular bottle was never touched cause nobody seems to know what it is
, I opened it and ate it, hmm... not bad it tastes like a cross between bamboo shoots and pickles in oil
. Of course I googled after.
Do you have artichokes from where you are? How do you prepare them? It's my first time to taste this and I would say it's not bad, I'm calling up my uncle right now to tell him to include more next time( just joking, I never ask)
, I opened it and ate it, hmm... not bad it tastes like a cross between bamboo shoots and pickles in oil. Of course I googled after.
Do you have artichokes from where you are? How do you prepare them? It's my first time to taste this and I would say it's not bad, I'm calling up my uncle right now to tell him to include more next time( just joking, I never ask)23 people like this
26 responses
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Aug 16
I love eating artichoke hearts! The two common ways I know to eat them are either pickled in a jar, or as a dip. My favorite is spinach and artichoke dip, it makes a delicious potato chip or bread dip.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Aug 16
@louievill Yes, now we can celebrate!
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502491)
• Italy
13 Aug 16
We do not have fresh artichokes here in Switzerland, but we had when I lived in Italy. The taste of preserved artichokes hearts is not as good as the fresh product, but I like them. I liked to feel them with a white sauce with cubed ham and put in the oven for 15 minutes.
3 people like this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
13 Aug 16
I wish I would get a chance to taste the fresh product, this one is good but I would take your word that it's much better
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502491)
• Italy
14 Aug 16
@louievill We have two main varieties of artichokes, those with thorns and the others that are bigger and without thorns. Those with thorns are the more praised, you can slice them very tin and eat raw with oil and lemon.
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
13 Aug 16
My father used to grow artichokes and I have tried them too. England is just slightly too cool to grow them to as big a size as they can grow in France or Spain.
They are a majestic plant, sometimes up to six feet tall, and look like a large thistle but without most of the spines of a thistle. The part that you eat is actually the flower bud and it is cut just before it opens as a flower. If you do leave it to flower, it is a beautiful purple head with bluish-green scales on top of a pyramid of whitish-green leaves - very spectacular!
The bud is made up of a basal plate (the 'heart') from which grow hundreds of florets (which are not edible and are usually referred to as the 'choke') surrounded by a number of fleshy scales. It is usually cooked by boiling or steaming the whole head and served, one per person, as a starter with a vinaigrette sauce or with butter.
As a starter, it takes a long time to eat because first you pick off the scales and suck and scrape with your teeth the base of each one for the soft fleshy part, then you remove and discard the 'choke' and finally get to the 'heart', which usually requires a knife and fork. As I say, it's a long process and very conducive to conversation while each person deals with his or her artichoke!
What you have in the bottle, of course, is just the soft heart (or basal plate) of the flower which has been cooked in water and then preserved in olive oil. This is usually served as a 'tapas' along with drinks or as a starter on cocktail sticks and sometimes with olives, a sharp, white cheese and other snacks.
2 people like this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
13 Aug 16
Very interesting especially coming from one who has a first hand account and experience of actually growing and preparing them, guess you could do a lot more dishes and be creative if you actually have the raw vegetable, for the meantime I would have to settle first and enjoy what I have got here. Wish it would grow in the Philippines but probably it's too hot or else the Spaniards should have already brought them here thru Mexico and the Galleon trade.
. Wish it would grow in the Philippines but probably it's too hot or else the Spaniards should have already brought them here thru Mexico and the Galleon trade.
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
13 Aug 16
, This is something strange to my palate, it reminds me of bamboo shoots that my Mom pickles but this one is in oil, If you noticed on the picture I ate it with sliced fried egg plant in light soy. I would try it again later with steamed fish., oh yes like you I'm not hard to please1 person likes this
@egdcltd (12059)
•
13 Aug 16
@louievill I've generally had it as part of an Italian starter, together with cooked meats, cheese, and other pickled items, such as carrot.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
13 Aug 16
@egdcltd just as I suspected, it's something that has Southern European origins, I just went back to check on the bottle and it's a product of Spain, I got a good tip from you, next time I get hold of one I would eat it with my favorite Italian dish. No wonder it tastes so good for me cause Filipinos are no strangers to Spanish cuisine.
1 person likes this
@epiffanie (11327)
• Australia
18 Sep 16
that's one of my favourites... perfect with salads ..
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
18 Sep 16
does it grow there in Australia or are they also imported?
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
21 Sep 16
@epiffanie good and too bad we do not have that here
1 person likes this
@epiffanie (11327)
• Australia
21 Sep 16
@louievill Yes I think there are farmers here who grow it too..
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
31 Oct 19
I have not had this since I was a very small child. I remember my Father cooking these in the oven for us not in the jar like this.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
31 Oct 19
So was that in the U.S.? Was your father a migrant from another country? It seems like Europeans and those living in Europe are familiar with it. It's a strange food for us Asians
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
31 Oct 19
@TiarasOceanView I see so he is like my son, they love to travel a lot.
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
31 Oct 19
@louievill He was Sicilian yes and he was also a Merchant Seaman on the ships. Gone a lot.
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45111)
• Canada
19 Aug 16
Yes, we have artichokes and artichoke hearts here and enjoy them both.
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45111)
• Canada
19 Aug 16
@louievill Try growing them as I think they grow quite easily.
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
19 Aug 16
Good wish we had them too, I checked and they are quite expensive here
1 person likes this
@SIMPLYD (90717)
• Philippines
23 Aug 16
@louievill Then it's delicious . I like labong and ubod but not much puso ng saging . 
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
23 Aug 16
It's like ubod, labong, puso ng saging combined, made into atchara and placed in olive oil
1 person likes this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
• Calgary, Alberta
16 Sep 17
Filipinos here uses artichoke as replacement for banana blossoms in kare kare.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
16 Sep 17
Wow that's a cool idea expensive to do it here though, anybody there want to trade for banana hearts
expensive to do it here though, anybody there want to trade for banana hearts@CaptAlbertWhisker (32760)
• Calgary, Alberta
16 Sep 17
@louievill Banana hearts are way too expensive here.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
16 Sep 17
@CaptAlbertWhisker if only teleportation is already a reality I would send you some right now.
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
31 Oct 19
It's one of those this that is easy to like at least for both of us.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
26 Aug 16
Try it if you have the chance, like I said it was only given to us free, tried searching and it costs around 800 pesos online, quite expensive if you are not sure what you are buying lol, I think it's also very hard to find cause who would buy that here? I like the suggestions that it goes well with Italian especially pizza.
1 person likes this
@AkoPinay (11496)
• Philippines
26 Aug 16
@louievill will ask my friend from US if he can bring one when he come
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
17 Aug 16
This is quite hard to find in our country, Perhaps only in Rustan's and Puregold in Subic. I hate to crave for it because I do not know where I could buy.
1 person likes this
@thelme55 (79324)
• Germany
19 Aug 16
@louievill maybe you can find it in Robinsons as well. They have imported goods too and they are expensive.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22923)
• India
14 Aug 16
never tasted artichoke, but bamboo shoots a plenty as well as pickle.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
17 Aug 16
it's also similar to banana heart if you eat that.1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
26 Nov 16
There might be more coming cause my uncle called up and the Christmas box is on it's way.
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
21 Nov 16
People simply have likes and dislikes, this one came to me as a surprise cause we don't have them here
@Iam_jauntyjen (5452)
•
23 Aug 16
I haven't eaten artichokes before.Actually it is my first time to hear artichokes.I wonder if that is available in SnR. I like pickled and fermented food.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
23 Aug 16
It's also my first time and I loved it sort of a weird way, if you are from the U.S., I saw sellers on Amazon, my uncle bought this one at costco
