The artichoke is a perennial thistle that originated in the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n
The artichoke is technically a flower bud that has not yet bloomed.<\/p>\n
The first mention of artichokes in literature was around 40-70 AD in The Greek Herbal of Dioscorides<\/em>, a book on the medicinal uses of plants. <\/p>\n The Greeks and Romans considered them to be an aphrodisiac.<\/p>\n Artichoke seeds were found during the excavation of Mons Claudianus in Egypt during the Roman period. <\/p>\n Until the 16th century, women were prohibited from eating them in many countries because they were still considered to have aphrodisiac properties.<\/p>\n In 1576, Dr. Bartolomeo Boldo wrote in the “Book of Nature” that the artichoke “has the virture of … provoking Venus for both men and women; for women making them more desirable, and helping the men who are in these matters rather tardy.”<\/p>\n King Henry II’s wife, Catherine de Medici, introduced the artichoke to France in the 16th century . She said, “If one of us had eaten artichokes, we would have been pointed out on the street. Today young women are more forward than pages at the court.” <\/p>\n Artichokes were introduced to England by the Dutch in the 1500s.<\/p>\n They were brought to the United States in the 19th century by French and Spanish immigrants.<\/p>\n The top artichoke producers today are Spain, France, and Italy. <\/p>\n It wasn’t until the 20th century that artichokes were grown in the United States.<\/p>\n California produces 100% of the United States artichoke crop, with Castroville, California calling itself the “Artichoke Center of the World.”<\/p>\n In 1947 Marilyn Monroe, then still going by her given name Norma Jean, was crowned Castroville’s first Artichoke Queen.<\/p>\n Artichoke is the primary flavor of the popular Italian liqueur Cynar.<\/p>\n One artichoke plant can produce more than 20 artichokes per year.<\/p>\n