211. _The ARTICHOKE_ (Cynara scolymus) _is a well-known plant which is
grown chiefly for culinary purposes, and was originally imported into
this country from the south of Europe._
This plant was cultivated with us as early as the year 1580. The parts that
are eaten are the receptacle of the flower, which is called the _bottom_,
and a fleshy substance on each of the scales of the calyx. The _choke_
consists of the unopened florets, and the bristles that separate them from
each other: these stand upon the receptacle, and must be cleared away
before the bottom can be eaten. Its name has doubtless been obtained from a
notion that any one unlucky enough to get it into his throat must certainly
be choked.
With us artichokes are generally plain boiled, and eaten with melted butter
and pepper; and they are considered both wholesome and nutritious. The
bottoms are sometimes stewed, boiled in milk, or added to ragouts, French
pies, and other highly-seasoned dishes. For winter use they may be slowly
dried in an oven, and kept in paper bags in a dry place. On the Continent
artichokes are frequently eaten raw, with salt and pepper.
By the country people of France the _flowers_ of the artichoke are
sometimes used to coagulate milk, for the purpose of making cheese. The
_leaves_ and _stalks_ contain a bitter juice, which, mixed with an equal
portion of white wine, has been successfully employed in the cure of
dropsy, when other remedies have failed. The juice, prepared with bismuth,
imparts a permanent golden yellow colour to wool.
212. _The CARDOON_ (Cynara cardunculus) _is a species of artichoke which
grows wild in the south of France, and has smaller flowers than the
common artichoke, and the scales of the calyx terminated by long, sharp
spines._
_The stems rise to the height of four or five feet, and are upright,
thick, and cottony. The leaves are large and winged, and the flowers of
blue colour._
The parts of the cardoon that are eaten are not those belonging immediately
to the flower, as of the artichoke, but the roots, stalks, and middle ribs
of the leaves; and chiefly the latter, which are thick and crisp. But, as
all these are naturally very bitter, the plants, previously to being used,
are blanched, by being tied up like lettuces, about the month of September,
and having earth thrown upon their lower parts, to the depth of eighteen
inches or two feet.
Cardoons come into season for the table about the end of November; and are
either eaten alone, or as a sauce to animal food, particularly to roasted
meat; or are introduced as a dish in the second course. They are, however,
not so much used in England as on the Continent; and this in consequence
chiefly of the trouble attending their cultivation, and their preparation
for the table, so as to render them palatable.
213. _LETTUCE_ (Lactuca sativa) _is an esculent vegetable, that is
cultivated in nearly every kitchen garden in the kingdom._
The different kinds or varieties of lettuce are extremely numerous: but
those best known are the _cos lettuce_, and _cabbage lettuce_, the former
having upright leaves, and the latter having its leaves folded over each
other like those of a cabbage. Their culture is very simple. The seeds are
sown at various seasons of the year, that the plants may be ready, in
succession, for the table. After a while, they are planted out from the
seed-bed into another part of the garden, at a certain distance from each
other, to allow of room for their expansion and growth. When the cos
lettuces have attained a sufficient size, their leaves are tied together
with strings of matting, to blanch them for use. From seeds that are sown
towards the end of summer, lettuces may, with care, be obtained in
perfection during the ensuing winter and spring.
Lettuces have an odour somewhat resembling that of opium; and they also
possess somewhat similar narcotic properties, which reside in the milky
juice. The properties of this vegetable as a salad, if eaten without oil,
are considered to be emollient, cooling, and wholesome.
214. _ENDIVE_ (Cichorium endivia) _is a common vegetable in kitchen
gardens, having curled or crisped leaves._
We are supposed to have been originally indebted to the East Indies for
this useful winter salad. It is chiefly cultivated in the south of England;
being sown generally about June or July, and afterwards planted out, like
lettuce.
The chief excellence of endive consists in the whiteness of its inner
leaves. It is, therefore, adviseable, either to cover the plants with
flower-pots, or, when full grown, to tie them loosely together, for two or
three weeks. By so doing, they will become perfectly blanched; and, in
winter, they may be preserved, either by covering them with straw and mats,
or by putting them in sand in a dry cellar.
The French consume a great quantity of endive at their tables. They either
eat it raw in salads, boiled in ragouts, fried with roast meat, or as a
pickle. It is a wholesome vegetable which seldom disagrees with the
stomach.