Artichoke

A thistle, Cyrana scolymus, native to the Mediterranean. Artichokes were probably known to the Greeks and were considered a delicacy in Rome, of which Roman historian Pliny professed to be ashamed: "Thus we turn into a corrupt feast the earth's monstrosities, those which even the animals instinctively avoid." Yet in Rome, in the 2nd century AD, no other garden vegetable fetched such a high price. The artichoke enjoyed by the Greeks and the Romans was not the globe (French) artichoke or the thistle flower head whose petal bases and "heart" we eat today. The ancient Carthaginians, as well as the Greeks and the Romans, ate the cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), whose edible portions were its young leaves and undeveloped stalks, grown in the dark to keep them white and tender. The name is a corruption, via the Italian, of the Arabic al'qarshuf; for some reason the Latin word cynara did not survive even in the Romance languages. (However, the Italians make an apéritif called Cynar, from artichokes.) Some believe that the word artichoke is a culinary hybrid. The true name is said to be derived from two Middle English words: hortus and chokt, literally meaning "a garden strangler."

Although artichokes have always grown like weeds in Sicily, they were first cultivated near Naples in the 15th century. Forgotten by the aristocracy during the Middle Ages, the artichoke was rediscovered and revived during the Renaissance by a certain Filippo Strozzi in Florence around 1466. Later, its fame traveled to Florence, where it became a favorite dish of the Medici family, who took artichokes to France in the 16th century, where they became very popular in French cooking. Catherine de' Medici was said to love them so much, she often fainted from eating too many. Artichokes were suspected to have powerful aphrodisiac properties, and women were regularly forbidden to eat them. This unusual vegetable is actually a very large bud, harvested before it has a chance to bloom.

It was the Italians and Spaniards who introduced artichokes to America. It was discovered that artichokes adapted well to Californian coastal regions, mainly around Castroville, often billed as the artichoke capital of the world. There are more than 50 varieties of artichokes grown worldwide. Baby artichokes are not immature artichokes but simply a small version grown lower on the plant.

Artichokes act as a diuretic and can be used as a liver tonic to invigorate the system and promote bile flow. They should never be cooked in an aluminum pot, as they tend to turn the pot gray. Add sugar, half a lemon or cider or white wine vinegar, and salt when cooking to retain color and obtain a better flavor. In Italy, where the artichoke is known as carciofo, women at the market stalls usually rub two together before making a selection. If the artichokes make a little squeak on contact, they are deemed fresh. If they are muto, "silent", the ladies simply pass them by. See also Chinese artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke.

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