Anyone for an artichoke?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382115)
Rockingham, Australia
October 12, 2022 6:21pm CST
The photo shows a globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus) that is growing in the garden here. The edible portion consists of the flower buds before they come into bloom. The buds are clustered together. The edible portions are the fleshy lower portions, known as the heart. The plant can reach up to 2 metres (6.7 feet) tall. The silvery green foliage is very attractive.
We’ve rarely eaten artichokes and, after researching how to go about cooking them, we’ve decided it all seems too difficult so we’ll leave them for the owners to have if they want to. Vince did give two to a Sicilian man who came to the door looking for the neighbour. The man was our age (75+) but still works a 13-hour day driving his bulldozer.
19 people like this
19 responses
@DaddyEvil (174500)
• United States
13 Oct 22
I've looked at artichokes in the supermarket but, after looking them up online decided I wasn't interested enough to try to cook them. (Pretty wasn't interested at all.)
They aren't something mom ever grew in our garden when I was a kid, so I have no clue how they taste.
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@DaddyEvil (174500)
• United States
13 Oct 22
@JudyEv It didn't seem like there was enough to them to bother with, either.
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@Fleura (35037)
• United Kingdom
13 Oct 22
I would say they have a similar kind of flavour to asparagus, but milder. And like asparagus, some people are crazy about them, and they also have quite a short season. I quite like them but haven't really had a chance to eat any since Little One decided she likes them!
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (502491)
• Italy
13 Oct 22
@JudyEv I often bought in France to prepare a local recipe. Remove the outer leaves, boil during 40 minutes in hot water, add salt and a bit of lemon so the artichoke does not get darker. Cut the bottom and dry well on a paper towel. Sprinkle a teaspoon of bread crumbs on the bottom, fill will grated Swiss cheese, place 15 minutes in the oven (170 C). It's a good recipe. You can add cubed ham to the cheese.
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@shaggin (74987)
• United States
13 Oct 22
@JudyEv that was one way I saw to took them. You have to cut the bottom off and the top off and trim off the tops of all the petals or whatever they called them. It also said to rip off the outer layer of those petals and discard them too. That does seem like a bit more work then I had expected.
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@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
13 Oct 22
I love artichokes. And I just let it boil a long time with salt and a bit of white vinegar. The easiest way to eat them is to eat each "petal" with fingers and teeth. I make a homemade mayo for it but you can soak it with a vinagraitte.
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@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
13 Oct 22
@JudyEv Until you pick a petal and it is very easy to come off.
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@JudyEv (382115)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Oct 22
@marguicha Thanks. Since I asked that, Anna has said about 40 minutes so that gives me some idea.
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@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Oct 22
I love artichokes, but I will admit I have never seen an artichoke plant before. That looks awesome!
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@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Oct 22
@JudyEv I didn’t even know artichokes were a flowering plant!
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@Fleura (35037)
• United Kingdom
13 Oct 22
@JudyEv @moffittjc They are just like giant blue thistles. Some people do grow them in the flower border.
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@Fleura (35037)
• United Kingdom
13 Oct 22
They're not difficult to cook, they just take a while. As @LadyDuck says, just drop in boiling water and cook for about 40 minutes (with the current energy prices, it's probably cheaper to buy them cooked unless you have a big pan full!!)
Eating them is more of a palaver. You pull off each individual 'petal' (actually they are the bracts on the outside of the bud), hold the pointy end, dip the base in melted butter or hollandaise sauce or something, then sort of suck it/ scrape it through your teeth to get the soft flesh.
After you have pulled off all the bracts you discard the fibrous 'choke' (actually the undeveloped petals of the flower) then you find the heart underneath.
Artichokes are such interesting things. We consider the artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) a vegetable, even though it's a thistle and more specifically, the part that we eat (and that most people ever see in the store) is actually a flower bud —
2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17240)
• China
13 Oct 22
I have never known the globe artichoke before.If I see it,I would have a taste of it.Don't know what it tastes like.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (86713)
• United States
13 Oct 22
I’ve had artichokes before, but they’re quite expensive here, so I don’t get the luxury.
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@Beestring (15372)
• Hong Kong
13 Oct 22
I've never eaten antichokes. Wonder if they are available here too.
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@snowy22315 (208962)
• United States
14 Oct 22
Interesting, I never saw artichokes being grown.
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@Fleura (35037)
• United Kingdom
13 Oct 22
They are expensive to buy but a couple of years ago a friend, who gets a regular veg. box delivery, received some artichokes and passed them on to us as she said she didn't like them. So we cooked them and discovered that Little One, who is averse to almost any vegetables (except carrots, edamame beans and fresh peas as long as they are raw and ideally home-grown) is an avid artichoke fan! Typical. So now I am trying to grow some but of six seedlings only three have survived to maturity and produced a grand total of three artichokes between them to eat this year. I am now plying them with lots of manure in the hope they will do better next year!
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