Botanical Feast

Artichokes

Some things you might not know about artichokes:

• are in the same family as lettuce.
• are a kind of thistle
• The core of the artichoke stem is edible as well – don’t throw it away!
• If you cook artichokes in an aluminum pot it will turn the pot grey.

Botanical Information

Family: Asteraceae (the daisy family).

Scientific Name: Cynara cardunculus L.

Etymology: articiocco, Northern Italy, a variant of Italian. arcicioffo, from Old Spanish, probably from influenced by the Italian ciocco for stump.

Uses: The flower buds are boiled or fried – often dipped in sauce (eg. hollandaise, aioli etc). The part that is eaten are the fleshy leaves or bracts surrounding the inflorescence.

Entry Filed under: Asteraceae,Buds,Flowers,Leaves,Mediterranean,Southern Europe