Om wrote about cardoons:

> I think I'd blanch or boil them and try them in a salad first to test
> the flavor since I've never eaten them before. Where the heck did you
> find them??? I've been considering trying to grow them since I've not
> been able to grow artichokes in this climate.

I've eaten them before, but not for about five years. They were in my local
Safeway this morning. Regarding cultivation, Wikipedia says this: "Cardoon
requires a long, cool growing season (ca. 5 months), but it is
frost-sensitive. It also typically requires substantial growing space per
plant and hence is not much grown save where it is a regional favorite."
Well, we don't have that long cool growing season where I live, and we *do*
get frost, so this isn't the best place to grow them. If you've got the
climate and the space, go for it!


>> I might see if the leftover strings have enough of that enzyme to
>> coagulate milk.
>
> Ooh, please tell us if this succeeds?

Turns out that the rennet is only extracted from cardoon flowers, which
means the strings wouldn't have enough to matter, so into the garbage
they'll go. If you are successful growing cardoons, maybe you'll be able to
harvest the flowers and carry out that experiment.

Bob