DUKAI
The Ingredient Library

Vegetables

Globe artichoke

Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus

The unopened flower bud of a giant silver thistle, eaten leaf by leaf down to the heart, and the vegetable most tied to the Roman and Venetian spring.

Also
Artichoke, Carciofo, Carciofi
Family
Asteraceae (daisy family)
Globe artichoke plants with arching grey-green lobed leaves and buds forming on tall stems

How to recognise it

In the garden and in the hand.

  • Globe artichoke plants with arching grey-green lobed leaves and buds forming on tall stems
    growingThe plant: a great silver thistle with buds on tall stems. Chanticleer Garden, Pennsylvania.
  • An artichoke bud that has opened into a large violet-purple thistle flower
    identifying featuresLeft uncut, the bud opens into a violet thistle flower. Jardin des Plantes, Paris.
  • Freshly harvested globe artichokes with stems and leaves in a red crate
    harvestedHarvested: tight green buds with a length of stem.
  • A market display of globe artichokes stacked with their bracts still closed
    harvestedAt market: buds still closed, bracts overlapping like scales.
  • Cooked artichokes prepared three ways on a plate with lemon and rocket
    preparedCooked: artichokes of Sant'Erasmo, Venice, prepared three ways.
Growth habit
A large perennial thistle, one to one and a half metres high and as wide, with a clump of arching silver-grey leaves and tall flowering stems.
Leaves
Very large, deeply lobed, grey-green leaves up to a metre long, silvery and felted beneath, with few or no spines on cultivated forms.
Stem
Thick, ridged, grey-green flowering stems carrying one bud at the tip and several smaller ones below.
Flower
If left uncut, the bud opens into a striking violet-purple thistle flower fifteen centimetres across.
Colour
Green to purple-tinged buds depending on the variety; silver-grey foliage.
Aroma
Faint and green when cut; the cut surfaces brown quickly.
Texture
Tightly packed, leathery bracts around a tender heart and a fibrous choke.
Distinguishing features
The globe-shaped bud with overlapping fleshy bracts on a tall silver thistle; the purple flower if it opens.
Common lookalikes
Cardoon is the same species grown for its leaf stalks and looks almost identical in leaf; its buds are smaller and spinier. Ornamental and wild thistles have spiny, inedible heads.

In the garden

Growing and harvest.

Conditions
Full sun, deep rich soil, room to spread and steady water while the buds form; a perennial that crops for four or five years.
Season
The main crop of buds comes in spring, with a smaller flush in autumn in mild climates. Seasons vary by region and climate.
Harvested part
The flower bud, cut with a length of stem before it begins to open.
Ready when
Bracts still tight and squeaking when pressed; once they begin to spread and the choke develops, the bud is past its best.

In the kitchen

Flavour and use.

Flavour
Nutty and faintly sweet with a mild bitterness, leaving a lingering sweetness on the palate that makes wine taste sweeter.
Aroma
Green and earthy.
Texture
Tender heart; fleshy bract bases; the inner choke is fibrous and removed on mature buds.
Edible parts
The heart, the fleshy base of each bract and the peeled stem; the choke is removed from all but the youngest buds.
Preparations
Trimmed and braised (alla romana), Fried whole (alla giudia), Raw, shaved thinly with lemon and olive oil, Steamed whole and eaten leaf by leaf, Preserved under oil
Techniques
Trimming and turning, Braising, Frying, Steaming, Preserving in oil
Pairs with
Lemon, Olive oil, Mint, Garlic, Parmesan, Anchovy
How Paul uses it
Artichokes appear in the photographs on the Training and Notebook pages, and on the Ingredient pillar of the Culinary Philosophy.

Selection and storage

Choosing, keeping, preserving.

Choosing
Heavy for its size, tightly closed, with a fresh cut stem; squeezing should make the bracts squeak. Avoid buds that have opened or browned.
Storage
Refrigerate in a bag, stem in a little water if possible, and use within a few days.
Preserving
Hearts blanched and preserved under oil, or blanched and frozen.

Traditional uses, nutrition and current evidence

What is known, and how well.

Each statement carries its evidence level in words and a numbered source. Nothing here recommends an ingredient as a treatment.

Nutrition

  • Established nutritional fact

    Artichoke is low in energy and provides fibre (including inulin), folate, vitamin C, vitamin K and potassium. [1] [2]

Traditional use

  • Traditional use, not clinically established

    The European Medicines Agency's herbal monograph records artichoke leaf, not the edible bud, as a traditional herbal medicine for the relief of digestive complaints such as bloating and fullness. This is a traditional-use registration for leaf preparations. [3]

Current evidence

  • Early or limited evidence

    A Cochrane systematic review found that artichoke leaf extract may modestly lower total cholesterol in some trials, but the studies were few, small and of limited quality, so the effect is not established. The research concerns concentrated leaf extracts, not artichokes eaten as a vegetable. [4]

Safety and cautions

Before you cook with it.

  • Eaten as a vegetable, artichoke is safe for most people.
  • Allergy to artichoke is uncommon but occurs, especially in people allergic to other daisy-family plants (ragweed, chrysanthemum, chamomile).
  • The EMA advises that artichoke leaf preparations are not for anyone with an obstruction of the bile duct or gallstones without medical advice; that concerns the concentrated preparations.
  • The inulin in artichoke can cause wind and bloating in sensitive people.

This ingredient profile is provided for culinary and general educational purposes. It is not medical advice and does not recommend an ingredient as a treatment. Anyone who is pregnant, managing a medical condition, allergic, or taking medication should consult an appropriate healthcare professional before using concentrated herbal preparations or supplements.

Elsewhere on DUKAI

Also in the library

Sources and review

  1. 1USDA FoodData Central, Artichokes, (globe or french), rawNational food-composition database
  2. 2National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements, Folate fact sheetGovernment health agency
  3. 3European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Union herbal monograph on Cynara cardunculus L. (syn. Cynara scolymus L.), folium (EMA/HMPC/194013/2017), 2018.Medicines regulator
  4. 4Wider B, Pittler MH, Thompson-Coon J, Ernst E. Artichoke leaf extract for treating hypercholesterolaemia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2013;(3):CD003335.Cochrane systematic review

Sources reviewed 9 September 2026. Culinary and general educational information.

Photograph credits