The world is full of contradictions and sometimes life is a minefield when it comes to making the best and most informed decisions. For a while now, I have been thinking about buying into an organic veg box delivery scheme because I’ve read a few books and articles about the parlous state of the soil in and on which we grow our food, and then there is the whole air miles thing, and eating seasonally both for our health and the health of the planet, and also what ingesting pesticides and artificially added hormones can do to a body and oh, so much more it has made me feel quite dizzy and anxious and also write unduly long sentences in my blog posts, so breathe......and breathe....
Well, I signed up to Riverford because I like the cut of their jib. I chose the medium 100% British produce box. Medium, because it said it was suitable for 2-3 people and I eat a LOT of vegetables (being vegetarian) and Andy doesn’t eat a lot of vegetables because he declares himself allergic to most of them unless covered in cheese or some sort of curry sauce. So the medium box seemed, on balance, about right. And 100% British produce because on the one hand we have people up in arms about global climate change brought on by the burning of fossil fuels e.g flying in the airplanes, and on the other we are encouraged to adopt living in a culturally diverse society for the social health of human being in general. I have never been on a plane in my life, but I appreciate my food often comes from foreign climes so thought that this box would encourage me to eat seasonally and cut the miles of ‘farm to fork.’
This, then, arrived last Tuesday morning at 8 a.m...
It contained potatoes, carrots, onions, a cauliflower, spring greens, chestnut mushrooms, mixed salad leaves and cardoons...
...and along with setting foot on a plane, neither have I ever set my teeth to a cardoon. Fancy achieving the age of 53 and a half without eating a cardoon?
Oh, I know what a cardoon is. I have seen them growing in spectacular displays in grand gardens I have visited but I didn’t know you could eat them. They look rather prickly in their full leafy form, but when they arrive in a veg box they look like celery. They are not of the celery family though - they are artichoke related. And I DO know about artichokes, have grown Jerusalem artichokes during our allotment-keeping days. I planted some for a) their sunflower-like flowers and b) having been informed they produced a good crop of tasty roots...
....and soon I discovered that Jerusalem artichokes are also known as ‘fartichokes’, at least until your digestive system becomes accustomed to their gas-producing properties, and that they also spread like wild fire and, like mare’s tail and Japanese knotweed, the world will never rid itself of the darn things. But they did taste good, rather nutty. Bugger to peel though. Nobbly.
I set about the cardoon today. I followed Riverford’s preparation advice which is basically peel off all the stringy bits like you would with less than tender celery sticks, and boil to within an inch of its life in well-salted water. Which brought on another contradictory moment because I never cook with salt, again for health reasons. I also removed the teeny tiny, but organic, slug I found and another wormy thing, identity unknown. Both dead, or at least comatose through being in the fridge for the past five days. Oh, and the organic soil which always collects in things that grow in loose layers, like leeks and celery. And cardoons.
The resultant pieces have been boiling away for half an hour. I’ve just tested a piece and it is still on the ‘firm’ side. Another 10 minutes, I reckon. Or hour. Apparently, once they have been boiled, they won’t soften any more through further cooking so you have to get the texture you want first time round. The taste was okay. I can’t describe it really - nothing monumental aka outstandingly delicious (like walnuts. Or cake) or thoroughly revolting (like pomegranates. Or liquorice. Fennel. Chicory. Rice pudding.)
I won’t mind eating it plain, then. Or I might, as suggested by Riverford, cheese sauce gratin it so Andy can share in the cardoon delight. I wouldn’t want him to miss out on new vegetable experience.
Well, I signed up to Riverford because I like the cut of their jib. I chose the medium 100% British produce box. Medium, because it said it was suitable for 2-3 people and I eat a LOT of vegetables (being vegetarian) and Andy doesn’t eat a lot of vegetables because he declares himself allergic to most of them unless covered in cheese or some sort of curry sauce. So the medium box seemed, on balance, about right. And 100% British produce because on the one hand we have people up in arms about global climate change brought on by the burning of fossil fuels e.g flying in the airplanes, and on the other we are encouraged to adopt living in a culturally diverse society for the social health of human being in general. I have never been on a plane in my life, but I appreciate my food often comes from foreign climes so thought that this box would encourage me to eat seasonally and cut the miles of ‘farm to fork.’
This, then, arrived last Tuesday morning at 8 a.m...
Oh, I know what a cardoon is. I have seen them growing in spectacular displays in grand gardens I have visited but I didn’t know you could eat them. They look rather prickly in their full leafy form, but when they arrive in a veg box they look like celery. They are not of the celery family though - they are artichoke related. And I DO know about artichokes, have grown Jerusalem artichokes during our allotment-keeping days. I planted some for a) their sunflower-like flowers and b) having been informed they produced a good crop of tasty roots...
....and soon I discovered that Jerusalem artichokes are also known as ‘fartichokes’, at least until your digestive system becomes accustomed to their gas-producing properties, and that they also spread like wild fire and, like mare’s tail and Japanese knotweed, the world will never rid itself of the darn things. But they did taste good, rather nutty. Bugger to peel though. Nobbly.
I set about the cardoon today. I followed Riverford’s preparation advice which is basically peel off all the stringy bits like you would with less than tender celery sticks, and boil to within an inch of its life in well-salted water. Which brought on another contradictory moment because I never cook with salt, again for health reasons. I also removed the teeny tiny, but organic, slug I found and another wormy thing, identity unknown. Both dead, or at least comatose through being in the fridge for the past five days. Oh, and the organic soil which always collects in things that grow in loose layers, like leeks and celery. And cardoons.
The resultant pieces have been boiling away for half an hour. I’ve just tested a piece and it is still on the ‘firm’ side. Another 10 minutes, I reckon. Or hour. Apparently, once they have been boiled, they won’t soften any more through further cooking so you have to get the texture you want first time round. The taste was okay. I can’t describe it really - nothing monumental aka outstandingly delicious (like walnuts. Or cake) or thoroughly revolting (like pomegranates. Or liquorice. Fennel. Chicory. Rice pudding.)
I won’t mind eating it plain, then. Or I might, as suggested by Riverford, cheese sauce gratin it so Andy can share in the cardoon delight. I wouldn’t want him to miss out on new vegetable experience.
Comments
Never tried a cardoom, but did have a very fleeting experience with Jerusalem artichokes. The wind was horrendous.
If only Jerusalem artichoke wind power could be harnessed!