With artichokes, the right harvest time is essential. Because if you wait too long before harvesting, the artichoke will develop blue flowers and is then no longer edible. Find out below when and how to harvest your artichoke and how to use it in the kitchen.

Artichokes must be harvested at exactly the right moment

When to harvest artichokes?

Artichokes are usually ready for harvest in late summer, i.e. in August or September. However, in exceptional cases, it blooms earlier. Therefore, it is important that you keep an eye on the buds. The size of the buds is not very important when it comes to maturity, because depending on the location, soil quality and variety, the bud ready for harvest can be 5 to 15 cm in size.
The artichoke should be harvested when:

  • The green bracts splay off very easily and/or
  • the tips of the bracts begin to turn brown.

In both of these cases, the artichoke should be harvested immediately.

What if you missed harvest time?

If you wait too long and the bracts open or the leaves turn purple, the artichoke can no longer be eaten. It is then tough and no longer tastes good. So if you miss the harvest date, let the artichoke bloom and enjoy the beautiful, blue flowers. In addition, you can then collect seeds for propagation.

How are artichokes harvested?

Use a sharp stalk to cut off the artichoke's flower stalk as far away from the artichoke as possible. The stalk provides moisture to the artichoke when you are not eating it right away.

Storing and processing artichokes

Store your artichokes in the crisper in the refrigerator. To protect them from moisture loss, you can wrap them in a damp cloth.
The preparation of the artichoke is not easy, but it is worth it:

  • Thoroughly rinse your artichoke whole.
  • Then break off the stem over a table edge or similar. It's important that you break it off and don't cut it, as this will loosen the inedible fibers.
  • You can remove the outer leaves and tough, inedible hay that sits over the tasty artichoke bottom both before and after cooking. Of course, the artichoke looks prettier when you serve it whole and leave it up to your guests to sort out the inedible parts, like the tough outer leaves, the purple inner leaf tips, and the hay. Cuts on the artichoke should be kept in water and lemon juice immediately after cutting. Otherwise, they will oxidize and discolour.
  • The artichoke is then placed in boiling salted water and boiled for 45 minutes. You can also spice up the water with lemon juice and/or white wine.

Category:

Vegetable garden