Crossing Cultures Over an Artichoke

by Janine Boylan on October 22, 2012

Artichoke, illustrating a food known by some only when crossing cultures

Artichoke in a farmer’s market
© Janine Boylan

Food for Thought: What’s in a Name?

I saw this artichoke today at a local farm stand, and it provided some food for thought on crossing cultures.

I grew up eating artichokes. In fact, they have always been one of my favorite foods. Now I am fortunate to live near acres of artichoke fields. And I have learned that artichokes are delicious served marinated, barbecued, and, of course, deep fried. But my favorite is still simply steamed.

So when my friend and her husband came to visit from Australia, I had to cook artichokes. I thought of it as a bit of a cultural encounter.

I prepared the thistle flowers: pulling off the small, tough outermost leaves, trimming the top and stem, and then pruning each remaining pointed leaf just below its needle-sharp barb.

My friend and her husband both cautiously watched the progress as we all speculated how early people determined that these things were edible!

After the artichokes finished steaming in a giant pot, I pulled them out with tongs and placed one on each of their plates.

Unsure how to even begin to eat it, my friend watched me for clues. I talked her through carefully peeling a steaming leaf and scraping off the tender end. She hesitantly tried it and was pleasantly surprised by the taste.

She devoured the leaves until she had to pause for the thinner prickly purple leaves. I coached her through this phase of the artichoke.

And then I showed her how to carve off the odd thick fuzz to reveal the prize: the heart. She loved it all and wondered how she could get artichokes where she lived.

Her husband had been watching this process with raised eyebrows.

His artichoke sat untouched on his plate, and I found our why. His food for thought about this cultural encounter: “As a rule, I don’t eat anything with choke in its name.”

Oh, I see.

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