Guy Barter uncovers the secrets behind this brilliant and unusual crop
C ardoons, officially called Cynara cardunculus Cardoon Group (or less correctly Cynara cardunculus var. Altilis), is a wondrous dramatic plant valuable in large flower borders as well as the vegetable garden reaching up to 1.5m high and across with jagged silvery-grey leaves and large thistle-like blue flowers adored by insects. It dies back to ground level in the winter. It is very closely related to globe artichokes (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus), which is grown for its delicious edible flower buds, but it is the leaf stems and mid-ribs of cardoons that are consumed as a cooked vegetable. Its flower heads are edible but smaller and bristlier than globe artichokes.
Both are daisy family plants derived from the same wild Mediterranean plant and flourish in warm sunny, well drained gardens in regions where there are no prolonged winter freezes. Cardoons take about five months to crop from seed, after which the plants are discarded after cutting, so it is only in the flower garden where persistence over winter is important. The leaf stems are ‘blanched’ which involves tying in a slender bundle and covered with light excluding but porous material, such as landscape fabric, for three weeks to render them mild and tender. Impermeable materials such as black polythene lead to rots due to excess humidity around the stems. They are cooked as you might celery, often served in a white sauce. The flavour is like globe artichoke flower buds, nutty, slightly bitter with fresh green notes similar to asparagus or peas. The bitter alkaloid, Cynarin, found in these plants has uses in treating gall bladder and liver problems.
Mediterranean countries including North Africa are strongholds for cardoons, but this spectacular crop can be raised in any garden where the soil is well-drained and moderately fertile, an
