Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Artichokes
Alexander Pope wrote that it was a brave man who first ate an oyster. What possible words
can describe the heroism of he who first ate an artichoke? Not only did he have to consume
it, but he probably had to invent it as well. At first glance - and maybe even after patient
consideration - little about the artichoke indicates either edibility or conscious creation. The
thing looks more like a primitive instrument of war than a domesticated product of agricul-
ture. With its overlapping rows of hard prickly petals, it seems only one step removed from
a stick with a nail stuck in it. Yet somehow, sometime, someone almost certainly did create
the artichoke. Exactly how, when and who are unclear. Obviously, it happened well before
anyone thought to copyright a plant, or even to write a scientific paper claiming academic
bragging rights. But there is little doubt that the artichoke was invented.
The vegetable that we call an artichoke is actually the unopened flower bud of a plant
that is an improved cardoon. (My colleague Charles Perry says the word "artichoke" is de-
rived from the Arabic al'qarshuf which translates as "little cardoon.") If you visit ethnic
produce markets - particularly Italian ones - you may have seen a cardoon. It looks like a
prehistoric stalk of celery. It is outsize and a pale dinosaur gray-green with a thick, stringy
skin. Peel it, chop it and cook it, and you'll taste artichoke.
Why did our unnamed farmer decide that the bud of the cardoon was more desirable
than the stalk? Is that even what he was going for? Did he really think he had accomplished
his goal, or did he simply give up? There is something haphazard, even accidental, about
the artichoke. One thing's for certain: no modern plant breeder would dare to come up with
something like it. More's the pity. The artichoke is one of spring's great vegetables, with
a buttery texture and an appealing flavor - an almost brassy sweetness that combines well
with a multitude of other ingredients.
But there's no getting around it, the artichoke is a peculiar vegetable. First, of course,
there is its form - like a thistle-covered mace. The edible part of the artichoke is an un-
opened flower bud, or, more accurately, a collection of flower buds. If it is left to open,
the artichoke will turn almost inside out, blossoming into something that looks like a flat
pincushion stuck with hundreds of tiny lavender-blue flowers. It is attractive in its own gar-
gantuan way, and fully opened artichoke flowers are sometimes used by avantgarde flor-
ists to make visual statements in arrangements. The sharp, tough "petals" or "leaves" of the
