Artichokes In Bloom

Once the peak of artichoke season comes and goes in late spring, the ones that remain on the plants are often too tough to bother eating. I can’t believe I just wrote that – how can ANY artich0ke not be worth cooking and eating? But it’s true; they get woody and bitter and are better left on the plant to bloom… like this:

It’s hard to remember, looking at these specimens, that our home-grown artichokes start out small, bright green, and oh-so-tender, and often wind up getting sauteed in olive oil and garlic for the dinner table. The mature version below would undoubtedly have the texture of shoe leather and the flavor of shoe polish!

Much better to be admired for its color contrasts than to be eaten at this stage of its life.