National Artichoke Day is a holiday observed annually on the 16th of March, and it encourages people to try out globe artichokes. Also known as the green or French artichoke, this variety of thistle is one that some people avoid because they don’t know how to properly cook them.

And we can see the point many of these people have. After all, the green artichoke is a plant that looks difficult to open and prepare, but actually, that’s not the case. It might look like a cactus, but once a person takes the time to learn how to prepare it, it’s a vegetable that will delight everyone.

The History Of National Artichoke Day

We are continuing to research the origins of this holiday, but at the moment, it doesn’t look like we’re going to find out who created it or why. As always, we’ll continue to research the origins of this holiday, but until we do, the information that we’ve prepared will just have to do for now.

Important Facts About Artichokes

Now that we’re on the subject of artichokes, let’s take a few moments to remove some of the mystery from this vegetable. And quite frankly, as we researched this holiday, we came across some facts that even we didn’t know about, so we think this will be educational for everyone.

• Almost all artichokes grown commercially in the U.S. are harvested in the state of California.
• Green globe artichokes are the most common artichoke sold commercially.
• There are over 50 varieties of artichokes in the U.S.
• Artichokes originally came from the Mediterranean.
• The largest producer of artichokes in the world is Italy, with Egypt and Spain as the next largest producers.
• One large artichoke provides a person with over 6 grams of fiber.

Observing National Artichoke Day

Anyone who has never tried cooking and eating an artichoke should take this day to learn a little bit more about artichokes and how to cook them. Although many people think that artichokes are only good for making spinach artichoke dips, the truth is that this vegetable can be used to make a variety of different recipes.

Some of our favorites include roasted lamb with mint artichokes, poached salmon with artichoke confit, and flank steak with hash and artichoke aioli. No matter what you eat, just make sure to use the hashtag #NationalArtichokeDay on social media to spread the word about this holiday far and wide. Let’s all come together and quash our fears of artichokes.