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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2015 2:31:47 GMT
Last year, I picked up some cardoon seed. It did fairly well, but with one thing and another, I never cooked it for anything.
Has anyone here grown and used cardoon? What do you think of it?
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Post by susannah on Apr 4, 2015 18:11:25 GMT
Unfortunately, I can't grow them where I live now. As I child, we ate what grandpa called "carduna" (he was from Sicily). He didn't grow them, he gathered them from...somewhere. I loved them, as did most of my family. May have been the way grandma prepared them. She peeled them well, boiled them, then dipped in flour, egg and Italian breadcrumbs. And pan fried them in olive oil.
Wow, two threads on cardoons. I am seriously craving them!
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Post by Muller's Lane Farm on Apr 5, 2015 18:58:45 GMT
I've never heard of it ... and now I see them in 2 threads??
Relative of the thistle ... taste like artichoke??
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Post by susannah on Apr 6, 2015 14:52:17 GMT
I've never heard of it ... and now I see them in 2 threads?? Relative of the thistle ... taste like artichoke?? My grandma prepared cardoon the same way she prepared artichoke hearts, so to me they tasted similar. But I've never had them without all the seasonings, bread crumbs, etc. so I don't know for certain if how similar they taste plain. But I would guess they taste somewhat alike. |
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Post by hobbitlady on Apr 6, 2015 20:14:10 GMT
Pony- I started this same thread last week...."Does anyone grow and prepare Cardoon". Got a great answer from Susannah there too--check it out! It took mine a second year to get really big fat stalks.I didn't get to it and it flowered real pretty. This year I got on it! Turns out it Looks like a thistle but isn't thorny or spikey at all...the spike look is soft and didn't require gloves.
I'm cooking mine today! A lot of prep work trimming and stripping out the biggest fibers But they are easy to grab at the ends.They are dense at the top so don't bother with a stalk less than an inch wide. Looks like celery when trimmed. Then it is boiled until tender. Then it can be breaded and fried.
I just did a test piece and it didn't have much flavor At All Except for the breading.Maybe the Spring rain made it really mild? I'm going to do this again after some summer weather just in case it gets more flavor. Didn't notice the small fibers I'd left while chewing at all. I gave DH a "test" piece and asked if he'd eat it as a side dish with baked chicken for dinner and he said "sure". I bread zucchini the same way and the ribbed zucchini has much more vegie flavor coming through the breading than this cardoon does.I didn't taste the "artichoke" at this time.
Seems like a great "survival" food since it looks like a weed!!!he/he. The flowers are real huge and pretty too, pollinators like them, and I think I'll plant a bunch as edible decor!
edit PS- well,duh, I popped a boiled piece in my mouth and chewed it up without the breading and frying. VERY mild but a tiny bit of flavor. Would be fine heated with some butter This way too as a side dish...Would add vegie bulk to soup,casserole,stew,lots of things with no off taste. Could be useful!
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Post by susannah on Apr 7, 2015 0:50:18 GMT
Hobbitlady, I remember cardoon as actually having some flavor. Maybe a little milder than an artichoke. Grandpa didn't grow them, he foraged for them. Somewhere. He never took anyone along so no one knows where his cardoon patch was. If you asked him, he'd just say "In the field, in the woods." Considering that was some 40 plus years ago, that field is probably a subdivision. I'm still fighting that cardoon craving.
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Post by hobbitlady on Apr 7, 2015 1:23:25 GMT
susannah- My youtube search came up with a 4th spelling (after mine and the 2 you put on my thread) "cardoni" -laugh! A man was standing by a parking strip full of them in front of a house for-sale in North Carolina.Said they grew in every vacant area there but most people didn't even know they had them on their land. That one showed your Grandpa's cooking method(unless he didn't boil it first) and the other was a lady who hadn't even Tried it saying to harvest Younger stalks because of the fibers(rolling eyes).Well, I've Done younger stalks now and I'm not sure about that.
Mine die off over the winter so my stalks,although Big,are only a couple of months old. I'm thinking they'll flavor up when more mature,so I'm going to try again. The big strings were easy to strip out since they are in the biggest surface ridges, and the little ones cut with a butter knife after boiling and were a non issue chewing.I'll find out myself if the inner strings get too tough later and report again. Then there's the "boiling" thing....now....hummmm.... that would Also cause loss of flavor. I may try baking them in an open casserole dish or pyrex pie pan next time to preserve more flavor,brushed with olive oil, and let the breading brown that way. Anyway it's a fun new food for me to experiment with and learn about.
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