Artichokes are nutritional powerhouses that descend from the Gods. To the ancient Egyptians, the artichoke embodied representations of fertility and sacrifice. In ancient Greece, the vegetable was hailed as an aphrodisiac.
The vegetable also gained attention in when the Greek God Zeus turned the object of his affection, Cynara, into an artichoke as a punishment for leaving him. The globe artichoke plant’s scientific name – cynara cardunculus – was therefore created to honour Cynara’s vegetative form.
These days, our approach to the Mediterranean ingredient is quite different. Superpowers from the Gods aren’t this vegetable’s best-selling point in modern times. But its evidence-based most certainly are.
They're a good substitute for high carbohydrate foods like potatoes.
“Artichokes are a low carbohydrate and low GI food,” says Accredited Practising Dietitian, .
“They're a good substitute for high carbohydrate foods like potatoes. Artichokes are also really high in fibre, prebiotics, probiotics and antioxidants as well.” A high-fibre diet could people maintain regular bowel movements and stabilise blood sugar levels.
Recipe developer and fellow Accredited Practising Dietitian, , adds that “artichokes are also a great source of vitamin C, folate, potassium and magnesium”.
Vitamin C helps to promote wound healing, folate assists in cell development (particularly important during pregnancy), potassium helps maintain normal fluid levels in the body, and magnesium supports muscle and nerve functions.
Artichokes: many ways
An artichoke is actually the immature flower of a thistle that’s incredibly diverse. There are over artichokes alone. Then you’ve got Jerusalem artichokes (native to central North America), Chinese artichokes and Japanese artichokes (native to China and Japan).
However, the two most popular varieties sold in shops across Australia are the Jerusalem and globe artichoke (also referred to as the French artichoke).
“The Jerusalem artichoke looks a little bit like ginger,” says Chryssidis, co-founder and managing director of .“But its properties are quite similar to potatoes in the way they cook, their texture and their flavour profile.
“The most common artichoke that people think of is globe artichoke. That’s the one with those leathery, scaly leaves on the outside and the artichoke heart inside.”
Even though there are a lot of different artichoke varieties available, the dietitians both report that they all offer the health benefits detailed above. However, there's not a lot of evidence to support the claim that artichokes are an aphrodisiac.
How to serve them
In Italian cuisine, artichoke hearts are often preserved in olive oil and presented as part of an antipasto platter.
“Preserved globe artichoke hearts are a pretty prominent part of the Mediterranean diet,” Chryssidis says. “A lot of vegetables are picked in season and preserved in oil, whether it's artichoke, capsicums or tomatoes.
“The olive oil adds flavour to the vegetable but it also locks in a lot of its nutrients as well, while also adding antioxidants. While the calorie content of that product will have increased because of the addition of olive oil, preserved artichokes will still be incredibly nutrient dense.”
“If you haven’t tried cooking with artichokes, you should because the vegetable can be used in lots of different ways.
Maiorano, who has Italian heritage, reflects on how globe artichokes are eaten in her culture.
“My grandma who was born in the Abruzzo region makes a delicious artichoke dish, where she stuffs them with a mixture of eggs, cheese, breadcrumbs and parsley,” Maiorano of explains. “She would often cook these with peas, and we would enjoy the peas and broth with pasta (pasta con piselli), followed by the stuffed eggplants for the main. A definitely understated dish.”
Chryssidis also grew up eating artichokes. However, he was mostly exposed to the vegetable cooked slowly in a red sauce. These days, he also eats stuffed globe artichokes, artichoke crisps or artichoke mash.
“If you haven’t tried cooking with artichokes, you should because the vegetable can be used in lots of different ways," he says.
“At the end of the day, variety is the spice of life and the more vegetables we get into our diet, the more nutritious our diet will be.”
