日本語版

globe artichoke

ingredient / ingredient-artichoke-globe

アーティチョーク / Cynara scolymus L.

Globe artichoke is an Asteraceae crop eaten for its large flower head before the flower opens. Its multiple layers of fleshy bracts and the central inflorescence are food, and the distribution of bitter constituents differs by part.

Photographs (captions in Japanese)

A green globe artichoke with the stem and tips of the bracts trimmed, on a cutting board

A globe artichoke with the stem and the tips of the bracts trimmed before steaming. The overlapping immature flower buds that are eaten can be seen.

Shown: globe artichokePart / state: Immature flower bud, trimmed before steaming

Photo: Keagiles / CC BY-SA 3.0 / original image / ledger's original image

Scope and provenance of the photo

Identification: Identified as labelled in the source. The cultivar name is not given in the source.

Image shown: The full-size file from Wikimedia Commons. No cropping or color changes by NIGAMI LAB. For display, a WebP capped at 1200 px wide is served; the ledger's original image can be checked from the link above.

On this page (7 sections)
  1. Overview
  2. Sources for this overview (1)
  3. Topic hubs
  4. Other names
  5. Follow the connections
  6. Related entries (10)
  7. Composition and content (4)
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Reading the bitterness

Artichoke is a vegetable eaten for its large flower head before opening, rather than a fruit or leafy vegetable. Following the overlapping green bracts from the outside leads to their tender bases and the central inflorescence. A 2024 review also identifies the immature head, small stem, and fleshy bracts as edible parts. The armor-like appearance in the photograph and the food on the plate connect here.

Even within one plant, the area around the head is not uniform material. A review organizing by-products found several sesquiterpene lactones in the outer bracts and lists cynaropicrin as a major constituent. The stem also contains the same constituent but is described as occurring at lower amounts, so the distribution of bitterness-related substances differs by part.

Cynaropicrin is described as contributing to the typical bitterness of artichoke. However, this understanding comes from a review summarizing composition studies by part, not from sensory reconstruction measuring the contribution to bitterness in a single receptacle. Outer bracts, stem, receptacle, and leaves cannot be substituted for one another as bitterness of the same concentration.

Sources for this overview

  1. Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) By-Products in Food Applications: Functional and Biological Properties

    Colombo R; Moretto G; Pellicorio V; Papetti A / 2024 / review / full text checked

    Checked for this overview: The review describes the immature head, small stem, and fleshy bracts as edible parts. / The review organizes the distribution of cynaropicrin by part in bracts and stem. / The review connects cynaropicrin with typical bitterness. / Evidence showing compositional differences by part and that the account derives from a review.

Other names: Cynara scolymus L. (la)

Follow the connections

globe artichoke →contains→ cynaropicrin →contributes to→ bitterness

Carciofo Violetto di Sant'Erasmo →is a type of→ globe artichoke

Cynar →contains→ globe artichoke

Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits

Composition and content (4)

globe artichoke contains cynaropicrinsupported

Scope: Artichoke's bracts and stem

Note: Content differs by plant part, so no single concentration figure is given.

States that the bracts contain several sesquiterpene lactones, mainly cynaropicrin, and that the stem also contains a low amount of cynaropicrin.
Limitations: A review; the conditions of the individual primary studies are not uniform.
Source: Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) By-Products in Food Applications: Functional and Biological Properties (Colombo R; Moretto G; Pellicorio V; Papetti A, 2024) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-artichoke-globe —contains→ compound-cynaropicrin
claim: clm-artichoke-cynaropicrin / type: composition / updated: 2026-08-31
globe artichokeThe edible part of The immature head, small stem, and fleshy bracts. is: supported

Scope: A 2024 review organizing edible parts of globe artichoke.

Note: The same review distinguishes outer bracts and remaining leaves as by-products.

The review states that globe artichoke is cultivated for a large immature head and that its head, small stem, and fleshy bracts are edible parts.
Limitations: This is a review-based division by plant part, not a study measuring cultivar-specific edible yield or taste.
Source: Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) By-Products in Food Applications: Functional and Biological Properties (Colombo R; Moretto G; Pellicorio V; Papetti A, 2024) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-artichoke-globe —has_food_part→ (the claim sentence above)
claim: clm-artichoke-edible-head / type: composition / updated: 2026-08-31
Carciofo Violetto di Sant'Erasmo is a type of globe artichokecontextual

Scope: The classification description on the Slow Food Presidio introduction page.

Note: The classification is based on the Presidio introduction page and is contextual because it has not undergone academic taxonomic verification (such as genetic analysis).

The Presidio introduction page describes Sant’Erasmo Island as a single very large vegetable garden since the 16th century and introduces this purple artichoke in connection with lagoon soil. It does not mention a scientific name or a specific historical source.
Limitations: This is a producer association’s introduction, not an academic verification of cultivation history.
Source: Carciofo Violetto di Sant'Erasmo (Presidio Slow Food) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-artichoke-santerasmo —is_a_type_of→ ingredient-artichoke-globe
claim: clm-w25-santerasmo-artichoke-type / type: taxonomy / updated: 2026-09-01

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