The homeland of the artichoke is the Mediterranean. Currently, the vegetable is very popular in America (especially in California), where it was brought by French and Spanish settlers. About 40 varieties of this crop are grown for food consumption. It is a dietary vegetable, many consider it a delicacy.
In our country, few people know about it, but the French, Spaniards, Italians, and Greeks know almost everything about it. The plant is widely used in the cuisine of most European countries. In cooking, very young flower buds are also used, and later cones are used. Small cones are ideal for snacks, medium-sized artichokes are ideal for stewing and frying.
What does artichoke taste like?
Artichokes are a fleshy flower that can be used in cooking. They consist of a group of large, fleshy leaves that are still tightly wrapped closed.
Eating raw artichokes will yield a tough texture and strong, bitter taste. But cooking them softens the texture and produces a more blended flavor, like boiled potatoes. Artichokes remind me of asparagus and brussels sprouts: they have a similar taste, with a mildly nutty quality.
Fresh artichoke core is cut into the thinnest pieces and added to salads. They are wonderfully combined with rice dishes, for example, with Italian risotto. In its raw form, the artichoke tastes like an unripe walnut.
How To Choose artichoke?
When choosing artichokes, pay attention to the fact that they are uniformly green, not sluggish, and not too dry, while the size of artichokes may not worry you, since a vegetable of any size will find its place on the dining table.
Artichoke is a unique vegetable crop that has a lot of healing properties. It is particularly popular with nutritionists and is widely used in nutrition. In pharmaceuticals and cosmetology, several medical and cosmetic products are produced on its basis. In cooking, the plant uses baskets, which are represented by flower buds. This is a kind of community of fleshy scales, resembling cones of hops or walnuts, with a diameter of 11 cm.
The Vietnamese use leaves with roots and a stem for brewing tea. Baskets are used for cooking. They can be eaten fresh or boiled. Many gourmets prefer pickled artichoke. The finished dish from a herbaceous plant has an incomparable taste.
What are artichokes made of?
Fresh artichokes are a storehouse of nutrients for the human body. The caloric content of raw vegetable-flower is only 28 kcal per 100 grams of product, cooked-increases to 53 kcal. Therefore, nutritionists often use the raw fruits of the plant in the menu for weight loss.
Artichoke inflorescences contain carbohydrates (up to 15%), proteins (up to 3%), fats (0.1%), calcium and iron salts, phosphates. Artichokes are rich in vitamin C, B1, B2, B3, P, carotene, and inulin. They contain organic acids – quinic, chlorogenic, glycolic, and glyceric. Artichoke is considered a dietary product that is well absorbed and is recommended as a substitute for starch in diabetes mellitus.
The outer leaves of the wrapper contain essential oils that give the artichoke a characteristic taste of unripe walnut, and in the inflorescences – inulin polysaccharide, which strengthens the immune system, stimulates the growth of bone tissue, removes heavy metals and radionuclides from the body. This is a dietary well-digested vegetable. Its processed products are recommended for use in diabetes mellitus as a substitute for starch. The main advantages of artichoke are the absence of cholesterol, an abundance of useful unsaturated fats, high content of ascorbic acid, nicotinic acid, fiber, potassium, manganese, phosphorus.
Macronutrients:
- proteins (3.27 g)
- fats (0.15 g)
- carbohydrates (10.51 g)
- water (84.94 g)
- ash (1.13 g)
Vitamins:
- Vitamin B1 (0.1 mg)
- Vitamin B2 (0.1 mg)
- Vitamin B3 (1 mg)
- Vitamin B4 (34.4 mg)
- Vitamin B5 (0.3 mg)
- Vitamin B6 (0.1 mg)
- Vitamin B9 (68 mcg)
- Vitamin E (0.2 mg)
- Vitamin K (14.8 mcg)
- Vitamin A (1 mcg)
- Vitamin C (11.7 mg)
- Beta-carotene (8 mcg)
Mineral substances:
- Calcium (44 mg)
- Iron (1.3 mg)
- Magnesium (60 mg)
- Phosphorus (90 mg)
- Potassium (370 mg)
- Sodium (94 mg)
- Zinc (0.5 mg)
- Copper (0.2 mg)
- Selenium (0.2 mcg)
- Manganese (0.3 mg)
What does the taste of artichokes look like?
Artichoke is considered a rather specific delicacy that not everyone has tried. The plant has a pronounced taste of Jerusalem artichoke, wood, and mature walnut. In its raw form, artichoke tastes especially similar to young walnuts. For some, it somewhat resembles a zucchini, while others catch mushroom notes when cooked. It does not have a pronounced smell in its raw form. But other products together with it may seem sweet. This is due to Sindarin, which has a special effect on the taste buds.
Health benefits of artichokes
In the inflorescences and other parts of the plant, there are very valuable substances: biologically active glycoside-Sindarin and polysaccharide-inulin. Artichoke is used for food in fresh, boiled, and canned form. Sauces and purees are made from it. Its blue blooming flowers can be used to decorate a festive table.
Artichoke is considered a dietary product that is well absorbed and is recommended as a substitute for starch in diabetes mellitus. Even under Catherine II, the artichoke was recommended by doctors to patients with gout and jaundice. Modern medicine has confirmed the diuretic and choleretic effects of the plant.
Currently, it has been established that artichoke extract drains the liver and kidneys well, which play a key role in cleansing the body of various toxic substances. Preparations in the form of tinctures, juices, and decoctions are prepared from the leaves and roots of artichoke. Decoctions of leaves and petioles reduce the content of cholesterol and uric acid in the blood, activate the activity of the central nervous system.
In ancient Greece, artichoke juice was rubbed into the head for baldness. In folk medicine, fresh juice squeezed from plants is used to increase sexual strength (1/4 of parts of glass in the morning and the evening).
It is also useful to take it for alkaloid poisoning, urinary retention, and dropsy, it reduces the smell of sweat. Artichoke juice mixed with honey is used for rinsing the oral cavity with stomatitis, thrush, cracks in the tongue in children. Vietnamese people make portioned bags of dietary teas from aboveground parts, which have a pleasant aroma, quickly removing inflammatory processes from the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract.
Preparations obtained from artichoke are used to treat urolithiasis and cholelithiasis, jaundice, hepatitis, atherosclerosis, sometimes. allergies, various forms of psoriasis, eczema, reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood. In folk medicine, artichoke is also used to treat cholelithiasis, urticaria, some forms of psoriasis, and eczema. Artichoke is very useful for elderly people with atherosclerosis. It is known that artichoke extract weakens the toxic effect on the liver of some drugs. Artichoke dishes should always be eaten on the day of cooking. During storage, fresh artichoke darkens, but this can be avoided by immersing the peeled vegetable in water with the addition of vinegar or lemon juice.
Cleaning artichokes requires certain skills. To do this, first break off the outer, rough leaves and trim the inner tender ones, scrape off the villi remaining under the leaves, and you will have the most delicious thing in your hands – a fleshy core. Of course, the cleaning procedure can be avoided if you use ready-made canned artichokes from cans.
Artichoke dishes are useful for people with high acidity of gastric juice since it contains a significant amount of potassium and sodium salts, which have a strong alkaline effect. However, with gastritis with low acidity of gastric juice and with low blood pressure, artichoke is not worth eating. It is also recommended as a means to prevent the development of atherosclerosis.
Decoction of leaves and artichoke juice is taken for diseases of the liver and bile ducts. For the same purpose, a decoction of baskets with fresh egg yolks is sometimes used. Decoctions of leaves and petioles activate the central nervous system, reduce the content of cholesterol in the blood, and uric acid in the joints. Artichoke juice with honey is rinsed in the oral cavity with cracks in the tongue, stomatitis, and thrush.
Artichoke usefull properties
- Protects the liver from the harmful effects of toxins, improves the regeneration of organ cells.
- Strengthens the immune system.
- Eliminates the manifestation of toxicosis in pregnant women.
- Improves bile secretion, reduces the risk of developing cholecystitis.
- Prevents premature aging, neutralizes the destructive effect of free radicals on the body, prolongs youth.
- It removes slags, toxins, heavy metals, alkaloids, hepatotoxic substances.
- Reduces cellulite, smoothes wrinkles, accelerates hair growth.
- Cleanses and stimulates the kidneys.
- Improves metabolism, cerebral blood circulation relieves unpleasant sensations after overeating.
- Reduces the risk of developing heart diseases, blood vessels, liver, and malignant neoplasms.
- It alkalizes the body, reducing the increased content of acid in the stomach.
- Eliminates the strong smell of sweat.
- It fights baldness, allergies, hepatitis, inflammation of the gallbladder, atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, intoxication.
- Reduces blood sugar.
Artichoke Side Effects
It is known that the harm of artichoke can be since it contains a polyphenol, which helps to increase the secretion of bile. This, in turn, suggests that it should be used with caution for those who are ill with cholecystitis or disorders of the biliary tract. Also, the harm of artichoke may depend on its size.
A small young vegetable can be consumed raw, but a large one must be subjected to heat treatment because, with age, the fibers of the plant become more rigid and difficult for the stomach to digest. If the basket of the vegetable has already opened, and the leaves have acquired a brown hue – this is a signal that the vegetable is not suitable for consumption.
It is worth remembering that artichoke stores its useful properties and pleasant smell for no more than a week, after which it begins to absorb unpleasant odors and moisture from the environment. Artichoke helps to lower blood pressure, so people with low blood pressure should refrain from using it.
How to cook and eat artichokes
Artichokes, like asparagus, have a specific taste. Being an edible root vegetable, artichoke can be prepared in various forms. People who encounter artichokes for the first time may be scared.
How to prepare an unknown product? This is difficult to understand from the appearance of the vegetable. The artichoke is actually the bud of a thistle flower.
The leaves surround a center called the “choke”, which is located on top of a fleshy core called the “heart”. The core is completely edible and very pleasant to the taste. The choke consists of a large number of fibers, so it is difficult to use it in food. Raw artichokes are easy to eat only when they are young. The leaves of adult artichokes are too hard. You can cook, grill, stew, or cook and bake artichokes.
Artichokes are difficult to find in any store, but if you have succeeded, then you need to be able to choose these vegetables correctly. Here are some recommendations on what to look for when buying artichokes:
- You need to choose the heaviest artichokes. Light vegetables can be dry inside.
- If you squeeze the artichoke, the leaves should “creak”. This is another way to determine that the artichoke is fresh.
- The leaves should be closed. If the artichoke leaves are open, it means that it is overripe.
- If the artichoke looks like it was burned by frost, do not worry. The less beautiful an artichoke is, the tastier it is.
To prepare artichokes keep following next instructions:
- You need to choose the freshest artichokes
- Cut off the stem and 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the top
- Trim off about 1⁄3 inch (0.85 cm) from the perimeter leaves
- Rinse the artichokes and gently separate the leaves
- Cook the artichokes for 30 minutes (you can Steam them for 30 minutes as an alternative)
- Make them artichokes grilled or fried with species
Artichokes go well with citrus fruits. They help to neutralize the earthy smell of vegetables, and also give a pleasant sour taste. It is difficult to experiment with artichokes because of their specific taste, but it is he who makes this vegetable a unique ingredient in many dishes. Choose the recipe that you like best and enjoy the unusual taste of artichokes!
Summing Up
Searching for artichokes in the store sometimes can take time. This vegetable with an earthy smell and nutty taste can be a great addition to unusual dishes. Artichokes even have their holiday. March 16 is the National Day of Artichoke Hearts. According to the California Artichoke Advisory Council, artichokes are an excellent source of antioxidants, vitamin C, folic acid salts, and magnesium.
The antioxidants in artichokes improve the liver and skin. Artichokes are also rich in fiber, calcium, and protein, and at the same time, they are a low-calorie product. Therefore, they are free of fat and cholesterol, artichokes can be considered delicious and healthy food.
