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.

Add comment August 10th, 2009

Figs

Some things you might not know about figs:

• There are about 800 species of figs.
• The ‘fruit’ that we eat is not a fruit, but actually a collection of flowers called an inflorescence.
• These flowers grow on the inside of the ‘fruit’.
• Each species of fig is usually pollinated by its own species of wasp in a symbiotic relationship.
• It is thought that figs could be the oldest cultivated crop (preceding wheat and rye by up to 1000 years).
• Figs have a higher quantity of fibre than any other dried or fresh fruit.

Botanical Information

Family: Moraceae

Scientific Name: Ficus L. ( the common edible fig is Ficus carica L. )

Etymology: Ficus is the Latin for fig (you get that with very old plants).

Uses: Figs can be eaten fresh or dried. Fresh figs don’t travel very well, so unless you are lucky enough to have your own tree, you can usually only buy dried figs.

History: Figs are an ancient plant and are mentioned in the Bible and the Qur’an.

Another species of fig is the Indian banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) that is considered sacred. It represents eternal life because of its seemingly ever-expanding branches.

13 comments May 9th, 2007

Capers

Some things you might not know about capers:

• native to the Mediterranean basin
• are the pickled or salted flower buds of the plant Capparis spinosa L.
• caperberries are semi-mature fruit that have been pickled
• the strong flavour is largely due to the presence of mustard oil.
• capers have been known for thousands of years and were mentioned in the writings of Pliny the Elder.

Botanical Information

Family: Capparidaceae (or Capparaceae) related to the Brassicaceae
Scientific Name: Capparis spinosa L.

Etymology: From the Latin for caper (from the Greek, but origin unknown)

Uses: The flower buds are pickled in vinegar or salted when very young. These have been used in cooking since Roman times for their mustard like taste.

Sometimes confused with Nasturtium fruits due to the similarity in appearance and the fact that Nasturtiums can also be pickled (known as poor man’s capers).

caperberries

Add comment May 1st, 2006