I was gardening today and came across this beast ..anyone care to guess what it is?
Flower by British Red, on Flickr
...and no, its not a globe artichoke!
Flower by British Red, on Flickr
...and no, its not a globe artichoke!
An unusual flower
- Thread starter British Red
- Start date
Blimey that was quick! I thought I was the only lunatic that still grew odd things like that 
Herb Bed by British Red, on Flickr
Herb Bed by British Red, on Flickr
Blimey that was quick! I thought I was the only lunatic that still grew odd things like that
Herb Bed by British Red, on Flickr
you are
we just look in books
among things I never knew:
from Wikipedia under Other Uses
"Cardoons are used as a vegetarian source of enzymes for cheese production. In Portugal, traditional coagulation of the curd relies entirely on this vegetable rennet. This results in cheeses such as the Nisa (D.O.P.), with a peculiar earthy, herbaceous and a slightly citric flavour that bears affinity with full-bodied or fortified wines."
from Wikipedia under Other Uses
"Cardoons are used as a vegetarian source of enzymes for cheese production. In Portugal, traditional coagulation of the curd relies entirely on this vegetable rennet. This results in cheeses such as the Nisa (D.O.P.), with a peculiar earthy, herbaceous and a slightly citric flavour that bears affinity with full-bodied or fortified wines."
One of the reasons I wanted them HoI - we don't keep cattle but I want to get into cheese making and would prefer to make our own rennet - mind you stinging nettles work at a push!
Hi Red
they had them in the kitchen garden at a NT place I visited last year
Chas
Aaah makes sense - fearsome looking things huh?
I have them in my garden and they flower every year - it's a south-east facing slope -so it gets loads of sun - that might do it.
The Victorians used to eat them - if memory serves they used to blanch them & eat with cheese sauce. I'm not clear in my head whether that was blanch in the culinary sense - or the horticultural sense like you would with sea kale.
The Victorians used to eat them - if memory serves they used to blanch them & eat with cheese sauce. I'm not clear in my head whether that was blanch in the culinary sense - or the horticultural sense like you would with sea kale.
In the horticultural sense mate - usually achieved by binding its own leaves up around the stem (its the stem thats eaten)
That's it - you've reminded me now. I believe I read somewhere (I have too many gardening books) that they also used layers of newspaper and string.
I think that it's supposed to taste like celery - which maybe why I've never tried it. I can't believe it's not stringy as heck - such a tough plant.
Reckon the ripe seed heads would make good tinder.
I think that it's supposed to taste like celery - which maybe why I've never tried it. I can't believe it's not stringy as heck - such a tough plant.
Reckon the ripe seed heads would make good tinder.
