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Artichokes
are originally from the Mediterranean. In fact, in ancient Greece
and Rome, artichokes were considered something of an aphrodisiac.
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This
could be because, according to mythology, the artichoke started
life as a beautiful Greek goddess Cynara who, after incurring
the wrath of a Greek god, was turned into an artichoke. |
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Its
scientific name is Cynara scolymus, which derives from
the Latin for canine -- canina -- and the Greek for
thistle -- skolymos. Its English name comes from the
Arabic for thistle -- al-khurshuf -- which in turn
becomes articiocco in Italian, the English translation
of which is artichoke. |
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Given
the above, you won't be surprised to learn that artichokes are
related to the thistle. And, yes, we can confirm that picking
these spiky little critters is not always fun! |
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The
artichoke that we eat is actually the bud of the artichoke flower
and the heart is eventually where the seeds develop. |
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Catherine
De Midici, who married King Henry II, is thought to be responsible
for popularizing artichokes in France. At a time when it was
forbidden for women to eat vegetables because they were thought
to contain aphrodisiac, Catherine ate Artichokes openly and
plentifully. (Lucky old King Henry!) |
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Artichokes
were first brought to North America in the nineteenth century
-- by the French to Louisiana and by the Spanish and Italians
to California, which has become the artichoke-growing capital
of North America. Although we're doing our best to push Glen
Valley up the rankings! ;) |
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They
went on to become so popular that, in
1920s New York, artichokes were briefly banned by the mayor
of New York following "artichoke wars" initiated by
Ciro Terranova -- the "Artichoke King of New York"!
(It's rumoured that the mayor lifted the ban a week or so later,
because he enjoyed eating artichokes so much!) |
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Now,
more and more varieties of artichokes are popping up all the
time as this fascinating vegetable continues to be savoured
worldwide. |
