Cardoon

Cardoon is a culinary delicacy in countries such as France and Italy, and was in common use in Britain until Victorian times. It is high in fibre and low in calories, and contains a range of vitamins and minerals. The blanched stems are usually boiled or steamed then peeled. One recipe calls for them to be dipped in beaten egg then polenta, parmesan and seasoning, then fried. James Wong describes them as ‘artichoke-flavoured celery sticks with a hint of lemon’! The leaves can be eaten in salads though are rather bitter, and can also be used to make the aperitif Cynar.

The flowers can also be eaten like globe artichokes – the buds are slightly smaller and fiddlier but have a milder flavour. In some parts of Europe the flower stamens are traditionally dried and used as a coagulant to make sheep and goat’s milk cheese. The roots can be boiled like parsnips (though said to taste more like celery), and the seeds yield an oil similar in composition to sunflower oil – there has even been talk of using them to make biofuel!

The plants also yield a yellow dye, the flowers are very attractive to bees, and the silver foliage makes this a dramatic plant for. As the leaves die down in late summer they also provide useful mulch and weed exclusion.