Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Spanish/American/Italian Artichokes

      Artichokes are one of those foods that I think I tried somewhere along the line, years ago.  But, at the same time, I couldn't remember this sampling clearly.  Therefore, when I came across a can of them a few months ago, I bought one, to give this veggie an official, fair trial.  The fact that they came from Spain just was just icing on the cake, so to speak.  My container was a 14 ounce (396 gram) can of artichoke hearts from the Rienzi company, based out of Astoria, New York, in the U.S.

     After doing a little research on the Rienzi company, I discovered a bit about its history and background.  This business was started in 1967 by a Mike Rienzi, in New York City.  Rienzi began by making and selling mozzarella cheese and flour to bakeries and pizzerias in New York.  However, by the early 1970's the company branched out, and started importing Italian delicacies, such as pastas and tomatoes.  By the 1980's and 90's Rienzi was available throughout the Northeast U.S., and in addition to its previous products also manufactured olive oils, vinegars, cheeses, beans, bread crumbs, and clam sauces.  Currently Rienzi wares are sold throughout the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic states, as well as pockets of Illinois, Ohio, and Texas.  Rienzi also owns 2000 acres in the Basilicata region of Italy, where they grow many of the crops used in their own products.  There are some Rienzi factories in Italy, too.  Although it wasn't explicitly mentioned on their website, they clearly also import from Spain, since my can was stamped "Product of Spain."  Which explains the convoluted title of this post.

     Artichokes themselves are members of the thistle family, whose more famous relatives are usually distinctly inedible and harsh.  Artichokes are actually only edible, or at least palatable, during a short window of time, when the flower is budding, but not fully in bloom.  The origin of domesticated artichokes is somewhat nebulous.  The where is fairly well known--the Mediterranean region.  But the when is disputed.  There are references to it as far back as the classic Roman era, or even in Ancient Greece, but some historians believe these mentions are about a wild precursor, and not the artichoke as we know and enjoy today.  It's now grown in various hot weather places.  The leading cultivators are Italy, Spain, Egypt, and Peru, although France, Argentina, China, Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, Tunisia, and the state of California also produce large amounts of artichokes.  The town of Castroville, California, bills itself, evidently somewhat exaggeratedly, as the "artichoke center of the world," and has an annual festival devoted to this vegetable.  Nutritionally artichokes have some B vitamins, Vitamin C, and decent amounts (over 10% of the USDA daily serving) of folate, magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium.  As for preparation, this food is sometimes boiled, or used as a pizza topping, but the most common manner is to stuff them, usually with meat, bread crumbs, and spices.  It's even utilized as a beverage--the Vietnamese and Romanians make an herbal tea out of it, and the Italians make an artichoke-flavored liquor, Cynar.

Rienzi artichoke hearts:  The hearts themselves were yellowish green, about 4 cm. by 3.5 cm (or about 1.75 inches by 1.5 inches), kind of shaped like a rolled up carpet.  They didn't have much of an odor.  For this sampling I was a bit more detailed, and mixed the artichokes with other meals and such.

Plain:  Not very good.  Chewy, kind of salty, bitterish.  But oddly bland somehow, too.  Not a good way to eat them, I suppose.  Kind of sour and vinegar-y, too.  (Although there is no actual vinegar in them.)

With Lean Cuisine spaghetti and meat sauce:  Better, certainly.  Still not great or anything.  Kind of an odd texture.  Rather like a weak veggie in a salad.  Okay, but not a strong contributor.  It wouldn't be missed.

With Smart Ones three cheese ziti with meatballs:  Not as good as the previous spaghetti one  Vinegary like taste of the artichokes doesn't mesh as well with this meal.  Still better than plain, but again, not great or necessary.

With Evol. butternut squash and sage ravioli:  Weird.  Kind of works the best of the ways I tried.  Still not awesome, but okay.

With just ketchup:  Better than plain, but once again, not great.  Vinegar of ketchup mixes better with the artichokes than some of the meals.  But still "meh" at best.

     In conclusion, then, I'm not very impressed with artichokes.  If I see the stuffed kind in a restaurant maybe I'll give it a try, but I'm not optimistic that I'll love them that way, either.  They're not the worst vegetable I've ever had, by far, but they're also far from the best.