The Organic Market and Café

Artichokes - Globe

No longer available

Description

Artichokes are generally steamed or boiled to prepare them for consumption. They are eaten from the outside to the center. Typically, a person takes off the petals individually, dips them in sauce, and pulls them through his or her clenched teeth in order to scrape off the tender flesh at the base. After the leaves are gone, the choke can be thrown away and the heart and inner stem can be removed and eaten. The buds produced by both varieties of globe artichokes, Green Globe and Imperial Star, are generally considered to have a high nutritional value. One medium artichoke has a great deal of fiber and folic acid but contains less than one gram of fat and around 60 calories. The globe artichoke most likely originated in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. It has been widely cultivated in Italy, particularly Sicily and Naples, as well as in England and other southern European countries along the Mediterranean Basin. While Italy, Spain and France have historically been the largest producers of the globe artichoke.