Green Globe Artichoke


Whole and Cut Green Globe Artichoke [Cynara scolymus]

The dominant artichoke in North America, the Green Globe is grown in Monterey County on the central coast of California. The harvest begins in March and continues well into May with a smaller harvest in September and October. Sizes range from 18 count (jumbo) through 60 count, plus "large loose" (cocktail) and "small loose" (baby) sizes. The "count" is for a 22 to 24 pound case.

The Green Globe is a perennial crop and fairly expensive to produce so attempts to replace it with lower cost annual varieties growable in other parts of California are being made - so far with less than fully satisfactory results.

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Cooking:

  Simple is best, but fancy chefs have come up with hundreds of recipes for stuffing them, and sauces that mask their flavor. A waste of time in my opinion - but that's what fancy chefs get paid for. For a nice simple approach, see our recipe for Steamed Artichokes

Buying:

  Select artichokes that are heavy for their size and have firm green leaves. Reject any that have splayed, dry, split, pitted or brown tipped leaves. Artichokes with frost or wind burn may not look as good but be otherwise fine. For a photo of one in this condition, see our Thistles page.

Storing:

  Fresh artichokes will keep in a cool place for a day or two, and up to a week loosely bagged in the fridge. Wet the stem for storage, but not the rest of the artichoke.

Prep:

  If your artichoke has sharp thorns, cut off the top 1 inch with a very sharp knife. Then cut off just the tips of the large exposed leaves with thorns with kitchen shears. Don't forget to apply lemon juice to cuts to prevent browning.

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