Cardoon

Also Cardoons, Cardoni, Cardi

A blossoming cardoon resembles its relative the globe artichoke, a more popular edible thistle. Its name, whether derived from Latin car duns or the later French chardon, means thistle. (In Australia, it is called weed artichoke and has spread, weed-like, through the country, as it has in the Argentine pampas.) Unlike the artichoke, it is not the flower of the cardoon that is eaten but the fleshy, silver-gray stalks. They grow in bunches, like celery, but are flattened, longer, and wider, with slightly notched sides and a brushed-suede finish. Cooked, the cardoon is soft and meaty. The flavor is complex, bitter and sweet, with hints of artichoke heart, celery, and oyster plant.