Artichoke - Flower Or Vegetable?

Video: Artichoke - Flower Or Vegetable?

Video: Artichoke - Flower Or Vegetable?
Video: PLANTING & HARVESTING ARTICHOKES 2024, November
Artichoke - Flower Or Vegetable?
Artichoke - Flower Or Vegetable?
Anonim

Artichokes are becoming more and more popular and fewer and fewer people are wondering what this flower-like vegetable is. It reaches two meters in height. The homeland of artichokes is the Mediterranean.

From ancient times it has been on the table of lovers of delicacies. In Greece, Rome and Egypt. In the fourth century BC, the plant was known as a medicine.

The Greeks used artichokes in ancient times as a powerful remedy against hair loss. Ancient tests from Rome described the beneficial effects of artichokes on digestion.

In the ancient world it was considered a powerful aphrodisiac. In ancient Greece, it was believed that if a woman ate artichokes, she would give birth to a boy. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the artichoke sank into oblivion.

In France, artichokes appeared in the sixteenth century with the help of Catherine de 'Medici, who at the age of fourteen married King Henry II.

In France, due to the erotic reputation of artichoke, it was banned from consumption by ladies. This ban did not extend only to the royal family, which did not sit at the table without artichoke extract.

An artichoke festival is held in the small Italian town of Cerda every year at the end of April. The California town of Castroville claims the name of the world capital of artichokes and every year they choose the Queen of Artichokes. The most famous artichoke queen was Marilyn Monroe in 1949.

The succulent flower-vegetable contains proteins, carbohydrates, carotene, inulin, vitamins B1, B2, C, mineral salts, a lot of potassium and iron, caffeic acid.

Artichoke
Artichoke

Artichoke activates the stomach and is useful for constipation because it helps increase peristalsis. It cleanses the body of toxins, salts of heavy metals and other harmful substances.

Artichoke affects the liver, it stimulates the elimination of harmful products from its tissues, has a diuretic effect and helps to expel excess fluids.

This vegetable is used for consumption only when it is fresh, and this is evident in its green leaves and firm appearance. Leafy artichokes are not good for consumption.

The artichoke stem should be peeled until it remains pure white. Cut the vegetable itself in half, remove the seeds and immediately dip in lemon juice or spray it with it so that it does not darken.

It turns out extremely tasty if you stew a few artichokes with olives. For this you will need a dozen small artichokes, 50 ml of olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic, half a teaspoon of ground black pepper, half a teaspoon of salt, a handful of pitted olives, lemon slices.

Peel the vegetables, cut each flower in half and then in half lengthwise. Boil three centimeters of water in a pan. Put the vegetables and cook for five minutes, strain. Heat olive oil in a pan and fry the garlic until golden.

Add the vegetables and simmer for two minutes until lightly browned. Add the spices and 250 ml of water, cover with a lid and simmer for five minutes until each artichoke is soft. Add the olives and leave in the hot dish. Garnish with lemon slices.

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