When you eat an artichoke, do you ever wonder who was clever (aka desperate) enough to figure out how to get sustenance from such an austere, abrasive and all-around thorny plant?!
Artichokes are perhaps one of the most labor intensive vegetables to eat, but an artichoke’s rich, unique flavor is worth the extra effort. These four facts will show you why.
1. Artichokes Are Immature Flowers
If left unharvested, artichoke plants blossom into beautiful violet-blue flowers with diameters up to seven or eight inches wide. The part we eat, however, is actually the flower’s bud. So if you see a beautiful blooming flower, you’ve already missed your chance to eat it.
2. Artichokes Aren’t So Named Because They Can “Choke” You
Aristotle actually ate artichokes, or at least some ancient relative of the modern plant we now consume. But the ancient Greeks lumped it into the same category as a desert cactus and named it kaktos.
The etymology of the English word artichoke traces its history from Arab-occupied Spain into Northern Italy where it was named articiocco, meaning something close to “arching stump”.
3. Artichokes Now Come From California
Artichokes are grown in different parts of North Africa and Europe, but California is responsible for almost 100% of commercial artichoke production in the United States. Some three-quarters of the country’s artichokes actually come from just one county, Monterey.
The loamy northern California soil and cool foggy summers are ideal growing conditions for artichokes, which take six months to mature. One plant can be harvested about 30 times per season, and the perennial plant will regrow every year for up to a decade.
4. Artichokes Have a Thorny Past
Notorious New York gangster, Ciro Terranova rose to power on the profits of an artichoke monopoly. He bought up all of the artichokes coming off the trains from California and intimidated merchants into buying them at inflated prices.
In 1935, Mayor La Guardia famously instituted a city-wide ban on the sale of artichokes, which lasted for less than a week but was enough to knock the “Artichoke King” down a notch.
So What?
Hopefully now you can see why this illustrious vegetable is worthy of some respect. Artichokes may be intimidating to cook and eat, but their back story is infinitely more complex.
Besides, with a good recipe, making delicious artichokes can be a breeze. Here’s one of our favorite recipes for Steamed Whole Artichokes.
For more information about storing and preparing artichokes, visit the Boston Organics Produce Page.
Brussels sprouts used to be one of the most vilified vegetables in American households.
An extensive study conducted by Heinz in 2008 revealed that Americans detested Brussels sprouts more than beets, spinach and even broccoli. This visceral repulsion is excusable considering that until quite recently, most home cooks (and even professional chefs) didn’t know how to properly handle the trickiest member of the Brassica family.
But in recent years, Brussels sprouts have had a culinary renaissance. Chefs have started featuring them, moms have stopped boiling them, and even children are starting to embrace the complex flavor of Brussels sprouts.
It’s time you got on board too. After reading these five facts, you’ll have no excuses for making obnoxiously stinky Brussels sprouts. In fact, you may even find you start to crave them.
1. The Bitter Flavor Is Part of a Natural Defense Mechanism
A few years ago, The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published a 6-year study on the cause of Brussels sprouts’ bitter flavor. The conclusion? That glucosinolates singrin and progoitrin are the culprits for Brussels sprouts’ bad reputation.
These compounds are released when the Brussels sprouts are chewed, cut or damaged. So unless you want a mouth full of blech, you better treat these sprouts with respect.
2. Respect the Sprouts…
Brussels Sprouts were first planted in California in the early 1900s, but they weren’t widespread until the development of the frozen food industry in the 1940s. For some reason, Americans were taught to take these frozen Brussels sprouts and toss them into a pot of boiling water for an extended period of time.
That is no way to treat a delicious vegetable. As we learned in point #1, when Brussels sprouts feel disrespected, they’ll seek revenge with a punch to the mouth of noxious flavor.
Always look for fresh Brussels sprouts and never, NEVER boil or overcook Brussels sprouts.
3. …And the Sprouts Will Respect You
The upside to Brussels sprouts’ defense mechanism is that glucosinolates singrin and progoitirin are thought to inhibit carcinogenesis. Though the mechanism is still unclear, increased consumption of Brussels sprouts and other brassica have been linked to decreased rates of cancer.
Brussels sprouts also contain significant amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, iron and fiber. Best of all, if you roast your sprouts at a high temperature for a short amount of time, they actually sweeten a little instead of turning bitter.
4. Fresh is Best
Brussels sprouts look like tiny cabbages. But while they’re closely related to cabbage, a Brussels sprout is actually a small bud that protrudes from a thick stalk that grows straight up from the ground. The fresher your Brussels sprouts are, the better they’ll taste and one indicator that your Brussels sprouts are fresh is if they come still attached to the stalk.
Peak growing season is between late August and early March, so it’s no coincidence that Brussels sprouts are strongly associated with Thanksgiving feasts and late winter delicacies.
Though not as robust as a root vegetable, Brussels sprouts are pretty hardy. Just don’t wash them until right before you’re about to cook them and you can store them in a plastic bag in your fridge for up to a week.
5. Brussels Sprouts Are Versatile
Brussels sprouts naturally have a strong, nutty flavor, which can be teased out in a variety of ways. You can bake them, roast them, shred them into salads, pickle them and steam them. But in case you missed point #2, please don’t EVER boil Brussels sprouts!
Brussels sprouts are nicely complemented by complex flavors like blue cheese, Gruyere, mustard, chorizo and pancetta. But they also can stand alone quite competently with just a little olive oil, lemon and fresh herbs. Here are a few of our favorite ways to prepare Brussels sprouts:
You’re now ready to go forth and explore the amazing culinary adventures that farm-fresh Brussels sprouts can offer.
The snowy white hakurei turnip is a late fall specialty at Michael Docter’s farm in Hadley, MA.
Like a giant pearl pried from the grasp of an underground oyster, these beautiful root vegetables are harvested just after the first frost falls on Winter Moon Farm.
There’s no need to peel the smooth, iridescent skin of a hakurei turnip. In fact, they can even be eaten raw. Uncooked, hakurei turnips are crisper than an apple. They have a bit of a bite, but they’re far milder than a radish.
Thinly sliced raw hakureis make surprisingly good crudités when sprinkled with a little salt, or you can shave them into a salad along with a spritz of citrus.
Just a few minutes in the oven brings out the buttery undertones and natural sweetness in this hybrid turnip, which was invented in Japan during a food shortage in the 1950s. You can roast, glaze, braise, boil or steam these pearly globes as you would any other root vegetable, but be warned that their high water content may cause them to get mushy if cooked on a low of a temperature for too long.
We suggest you throw sliced hakurei turnips into a stir-fry as a flavorful substitute for water chestnuts, and as you might imagine, these turnips make wicked good pickles.