California Grown: Artichokes

What is an Artichoke?

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When you eat an artichoke, you might think you're eating the flower, or maybe it's a fruit, in reality what we typically eat are actually modified leaves meant to look like flower petals to help attract pollinators. It is a member of the sunflower family, a part of the thistle group.

Where are Artichokes grown in California?

California is the only state that can replicate the original habitat of the crop, making it the only one that consistently and reliably produces the crop, accounting for about 100% of the country's production. California's official state vegetable is actually the artichoke, established in 2013 by Governor Gavin Newsom. Most of the state's production comes from the central coastal areas, it also the county vegetable of Monterey County. 

Historical importance

Believed to come from the Mediterranean, they have roots of being cultivated and consumed by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. Its Genus Cynara actually has its roots in the ancient Greek myth of Zeus and the goddess Cynara, who, after becoming homesick, tried to leave, enraging Zeus, who cast her off the mountain. When she landed, she became the artichoke. Catherine De Medicini married to King Henry II, is the one who first made the crop popular in the 1500’s when she introduced it to France.

How to use Artichokes

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Typically, the flower-looking part is what we consume, whether it's the hearts we roast or use for dips, or the meaty parts of the specialized leaves that people dip in various sauces to consume.

References 

Baessler, L. (2022, March 22). Artichoke plant history: Origin of artichokes in cooking and gardening. Gardening Know How. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/tbt/artichoke-plant-history-origin

Beautiful free images & pictures | unsplash. (n.d.). https://unsplash.com/

Stradley, L., & Brenda. (2016, August 12). Artichokes history. What’s Cooking America. https://whatscookingamerica.net/history/artichokehistory.htm