# bristol-artichoke capital of the UK



## rubbershoes (May 11, 2006)

i was pootling about on google trends and found that bristol  was far ahead of the rest of the UK in searching google for artichokes

and unlike the rest of the country, more people were into artichokes than aftershave

WTF?


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## gentlegreen (May 11, 2006)

http://www.google.com/trends?q=skunk,+cider&ctab=0&date=all&geo=GB

Bristol tops the country for cider, but *Basildon* is the winner for Skunk


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## JTG (May 11, 2006)

there was loads of the stuff on sale in Corn Street yesterday. Whole stalls groaning under the weight of it


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## Sunspots (May 11, 2006)

_Artichokes!!?_   

As you may already be aware, I'm in Bristol, and it's all about the celery.


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## munkeeunit (May 11, 2006)

Aren't celery and artichokes related, at least a little


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## gentlegreen (May 11, 2006)

munkeeunit said:
			
		

> Aren't celery and artichokes related, at least a little


nope - artichokes - both Jerusalem and globe are in the compositae family, whereas celery is in the umbelliferae  

.


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## munkeeunit (May 11, 2006)

Two funny long names which end in ae, sounds like they're related to my dim brain


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## gentlegreen (May 11, 2006)

munkeeunit said:
			
		

> Two funny long names which end in ae, sounds like they're related to my dim brain



OK .... daisy / dandelion / pyrethrum family and carrot / parnip / hemlock family


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## munkeeunit (May 11, 2006)

Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale, Kohlrabi, Mustard, Rape, Rutabaga and Turnip

BRASSICA!

HA!


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## Gerry1time (May 11, 2006)

JTG said:
			
		

> there was loads of the stuff on sale in Corn Street yesterday. Whole stalls groaning under the weight of it



think you mean asparagus, there was tons of it for the first time in ages yesterday, but not an artichoke in sight!


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## gentlegreen (May 12, 2006)

In practice, artichokes / cardoons are *much *better as ornamentals than for eating


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## strung out (May 12, 2006)

hang on a minute everyone... won't this just be because of the pub the Artichoke? Sounds like the most sensible reason I reckon


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## Dru (May 12, 2006)

You could be onto something there, Tedix. But it won't stop me putting in my two pennorth.

I entirely agree with you, Gentlegreen. I ate a globe artichoke once. It seemed like a very good way of getting mess on your chin, and nothing much else. And then there was the time I spent the entire afternoon on a friend's allotment in deepest St Werburgh's, digging up Jerusalem artichokes. It was like a geological dig, trying to exhume the little sods from the concrete-like soil. And they were tiny. And I didn't like them.

On the other hand, you can get (or used to be able to get) artichoke liqueur at Licata's. (It said _carciofo_ on the label, which is italian for artichoke, I guess....) I got into the habit of drinking it with tonic water one summer, sometimes fortified with a splash of gin. 

Now _that's _my kind of artichoke experience.

Funny names time. The Jerusalem artichoke doesn't come from Jerusalem, and it isn't an artichoke. It's a north american relative of the sunflower; and it gets its name from the italian for sunflower, which is girasole.  

Asparagus, though? mmmmmm

And they were selling Cheddar strawberries down town yesterday, too.


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## gentlegreen (May 12, 2006)

Dru said:
			
		

> Funny names time. The Jerusalem artichoke doesn't come from Jerusalem, and it isn't an artichoke. It's a north american relative of the sunflower; and it gets its name from the italian for sunflower, which is girasole.


I always intended to try growing *chinese *"artichokes" Stachys affinis / S. sieboldii which I note are members of a different family - viz labiatae  






http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/vegetables/chinart.htm




			
				Dru said:
			
		

> And they were selling Cheddar strawberries down town yesterday, too.


eek ! - presumably as in Cheddar-*style* cheese  

.


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## gentlegreen (May 12, 2006)

Tedix said:
			
		

> hang on a minute everyone... won't this just be because of the pub the Artichoke? Sounds like the most sensible reason I reckon


Don't go being all sensible now ... this thread potentially has wings  

.


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## Dru (May 12, 2006)

Eeeek. They look like maggots  

Strawberries....well, the fellow selling them looked a bit dodgy, and the strawberries themselves were saying _nothing_.


I didn't buy. I'll wait until they get them in my favourite greengrocers, the one on Lower Redland Road. They would no doubt be able to give you the strawberry's family tree (er,, oh you know) even unto the tenth generation.


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## munkeeunit (May 12, 2006)

gentlegreen said:
			
		

> In practice, artichokes / cardoons are *much *better as ornamentals than for eating



Are artichokes a type of thistle then?


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## gentlegreen (May 12, 2006)

munkeeunit said:
			
		

> Are artichokes a type of thistle then?


yep, and there's a close relative - the "cardoon" where you eat the stem instead. And fairly close relatives - salsify and scorzonera where you eat the roots. As Dru already said - "Jerusalem artichokes" are like sunflowers. All members of the daisy family  

They're favoured by diabetics because they contain a different form of sugar - inulin.

(the one in the photo is past the eating stage)


.


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## munkeeunit (May 12, 2006)

Fascinating. I wish I had more time to immerse myself in this kind of knowledge. Instead I'm chained to my PC fighting electronic war against injustice (that and spending time on U75). If my health improves a little more I may apply for an allotment.


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