Want to know what the peek is this week? Here are some hints:
- Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus is a variety of thistle species
- The plant’s edible portion is the flower buds before blooming
- The flower head is composed of an inflorescence with many bracts on an edible base
- Another perennial variety is called the cardoon, which is native to the Mediterranean
- Wild forms and cultivars exist
- The bud’s edible parts include the fleshy lower portions of the involucral bracts as well as the base, called the heart
- The immature florets in the bud’s center is known as the choke, or beard, which are inedible in older, larger flowers
Check out this week’s delicious peek.