Artichokes from an Americentric Point of View

“Barely worth the trouble.” “It’s really just a thistle head with spikes everywhere.” “No other vegetable tries that hard to keep you out.” “You start with so much, but in the end there’s so little to eat.” “Did you hear about the time Artie choked?”

Those statements all relate to the preparation and enjoyment of one of my favorite foods, the artichoke. This time of year, artichokes are in season in my part of the world. We’re not talking about sunchokes or Jerusalem artichokes here; these are the buds of a plant from that same family. Canned, marinated artichoke hearts are available year-round, but not so with fresh ‘chokes. Eating the fresh ones demands an investment of time, but it’s an enjoyable experience.

The artichoke is the edible bud from a specific type of thistle. You eat it just before it flowers. When cooked, there is soft meat at the base of each leaf which can be eaten, and once the leaves and brushy flower parts are removed, there is a substantial portion of soft meat remaining at the base, which is called the artichoke heart. That’s the part that gets marinated and canned for other times and places. But if you’ve done all the work to get to that heart, eating it fresh is even better. It’s a tender, tasty, nutritious green vegetable.

This is what it looks like when you let the bud flower rather than eating it. Very pretty purple or pink blossoms. And they do look just like thistles.

My Life as a Choker

When I was young, my parents served artichokes and I developed a taste for the humble vegetables. While young and single, I rarely bothered with them. After marriage and kids, things began to change. My wife and I ate them about once a year. Then one of our kids turned out to be an artichokaholic. She loves them. Artichokes are probably her favorite vegetable. And because fresh artichokes are only in stores for a few weeks per year, we have to get some each time. We get the biggest ones we can find.

If we buy four large artichokes, they take up half of a shopping bag. It’s a squeeze to fit them in the refrigerator or a steamer pot. It’s best to tackle them right away rather than trying to find a place to keep them for another day. Rinse them off, grab a sharp knife, and get started.

Some people stuff their artichokes or remove the hearts for some recipe. But we cook the whole thing and eat any part that’s soft. For preparation, I usually cut off the top of the leaves and then steam them or boil them with a fresh lemon and a clove of garlic.

Here is a good video on how to prepare an artichoke:

Once they’re fully cooked, pop them on a plate. The job has only begun at that point, since removing the leaves and eating what you can from each part, and then preparing the heart, represents most of the work. But when the whole family is sitting around the dinner table talking as we pick through our artichokes, it’s an enjoyable and wholesome activity rather than a waste of time. You can eat them plain or serve cooked artichokes with a little mayonnaise, aioli, lemon butter, mustard vinaigrette, or other dipping sauce. Delicious.

If you're feeling more adventurous, there's always artichoke heart pizza or spinach-artichoke dip.

An Americentric History of ‘Chokes

Artichokes are native to the Mediterranean region and have been enjoyed for thousands of years. We know that the ancient Greeks ate them. In fact, there is a legend saying that artichokes were created by the god Zeus. As the story goes, there was a young woman on earth named Cynara who Zeus liked. He had an affair with her and then tried to take her back to Mount Olympus. When the homesick girl displeased him by returning to earth, Zeus caste her down and she turned into an artichoke.

Today, much of the world does not know artichokes, apart from the canned and marinated artichoke hearts. But the countries around the Mediterranean know them well. As you can see from the map below of artichoke cultivation worldwide, Italy is the center of the artichoke universe. Spain, Greece, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, France, Turkey, and other nearby countries are important producers as well.

Artichoke cultivation, 2005. Public domain.

Additionally, there are loyal pockets of cultivation in other appropriate climates where artichokes have been spread by Italians, Spaniards, and others. Further east of the Mediterranean, Iran has some. Interestingly, there is a pocket in eastern China; I’m not sure whether that is an outpost of consumers or simply a growing region. South America has some strong cultivation in Argentina, Chile, and Peru. And then there is the pocket nearest me, which is on the west coast of the United States.

Nearly 100% of the artichokes in the U.S. are grown in the state of California. Most of those are grown in Monterey County on the central coast. And many of those are grown in and around Castroville, California, just north of the city of Monterey. Castroville describes itself as the Artichoke Center of the World (don't tell the Italians).

Originally, artichokes were brought to California by the Spanish in the 1800s, but most artichoke farmers have been Italian-Americans. The French who settled Louisiana also introduced them there, but not as successfully. The plants do like a Mediterranean climate, so California's similar characteristics make it a good commercial fit.

The Artichoke King

In the 1920s, the mafia took control of the artichoke trade in the United States. It was controlled by Ciro Terranova, underboss of the Morello crime family that was based in New York. His nickname was “The Artichoke King” (check Wikipedia if you don’t believe me). Terranova was born in a town called Corleone, Sicily, Italy, before moving to the United States. Ever heard of Corleone? Someone please cue the Godfather theme song.

In the 1920s, Terranova monopolized the artichoke market by buying up crates of the vegetables from California that were headed east to the New York market. He paid $6 per crate and then marked up the price by up to 40% in New York. Artichoke producers and distributors were terrorized into working with him. Those who did not, suffered consequences. One consequence was that Terranova ordered attacks on some of the artichoke farms. All of the artichoke plants on several farms north of Pescadero were hacked down in the middle of the night.

Cookbook author Fanny Farmer noted that artichoke prices in Boston were 30-40 cents apiece at that time, which made them a luxury item. New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who professed to loving artichokes himself (and why wouldn’t he, with a name like that?) took bold action against the artichoke monopoly. Artichokes were made illegal in New York, where people could not possess, display, or sell them. However, the ban only lasted for one week as others stood up to resist the monopoly.

The Artichoke Queen

In the late 1940s, when Marilyn Monroe stopped in Castroville, leaders of the town decided to make her the Artichoke Queen. While she was signing autographs, they brought her an artichoke sash and took some pictures. It was a wise decision because she became really famous after that. And for years afterwards, they were able to use her image to sell artichokes.

Yes, that Marilyn Monroe. But they discovered her before she was quite so famous.

Every year, there is an Artichoke Festival in Castroville, California. But food is a big deal now; the event got so big that they had to move it out of Castroville. Now the festival is held at the county fairgrounds event center, which is 14 miles from town.

Pardon me for leaving, but I think my ‘chokes are steamed now!

I took this picture just before turning on the stove. Squeezed some lemon on the chokes and in the water also. Yummy.

Sources:
https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/ArtichokeHistory.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artichoke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciro_Terranova
https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/article/Nothing-is-ever-easy-when-it-comes-to-artichokes-10970339.php

Steemy picture by the author. Others public domain or from Pixabay, except for Castroville images, which are not known to be copyrighted.