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APULICA / FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND PULSES

Brindisi artichoke

PGI · Fruit, vegetables and pulses · Puglia

Apulica editorial team · Sources checked:

In brief

History and origin

The artichoke has long been part of cooking in the province of Brindisi. The earliest records of brindisino artichokes being eaten date from the eighteenth century: recipe books found in the seminaries of Otranto and Oria show artichoke dishes being prepared regularly.

Growing on a larger scale is a twentieth-century story. In 1930, as artichoke fields began to spread, the first statistical surveys counted about 60 hectares, mostly around Carovigno, Mesagne, Brindisi and San Vito dei Normanni. By 1946 the area already exceeded 100 hectares, and by the 1980s it had reached about 9,000 hectares, making the artichoke one of the emblematic crops of the Brindisi plain.

According to the Atlas of Apulia's traditional products, the artichoke is today the region's most important vegetable crop after processing tomatoes. The brindisino ecotype is protected by a Protected Geographical Indication, with its own protection consortium.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Carciofo Brindisino IGP · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Carciofi fritti

Area and method of production

The PGI covers some municipalities of the province of Brindisi and applies to the fresh vegetable of the species Cynara cardunculus subsp. scolymus, Carciofo Brindisino ecotype. Planting material, that is suckers, ovoli, crown pieces or seedlings, must come from plants with the typical traits of the local ecotype.

Before planting, the soil is worked deeply and then several times at the surface. Transplanting takes place between July and October; harvesting begins in the first days of November and can continue through May of the following year. The heads are picked by hand, with a stem no longer than 10 centimetres and one or two leaves at most, and handled carefully because they spoil easily.

They are then kept in cool, covered, airy places and prepared for sale by trimming the stem and tips and removing the outer bracts. They go on sale from November, in Extra and First classes, in packs of one to 25 artichokes.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Carciofo Brindisino IGP · eAmbrosia — Carciofo Brindisino (PGI-IT-0798)

How to recognise it

The Carciofo Brindisino is recognised by its cylindrical head, at least 8 centimetres tall and at least 6 across. The outer bracts are green-violet, the inner ones whitish-green; the stem is thin or fairly thin.

At the base the bracts are tender and fleshy, with a savoury, full flavour; the consortium also highlights its sweetness and tenderness, which make it good to eat raw. It is an early-season artichoke: it reaches the stalls from November and lasts through winter into spring.

To keep it well, store it in a cool, dry place. In the fridge it lasts five or six days if the toughest outer leaves and the stem are removed, and it is washed in water and lemon, dried carefully and closed in a bag or airtight container.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Carciofo Brindisino IGP

In the kitchen

Tender and sweet, the Carciofo Brindisino is also eaten raw, in salads or as pinzimonio with oil for dipping. Cooked, it goes into many Apulian dishes: a simple pasta with cherry tomatoes, basil and chilli, artichoke parmigiana and above all carciofi alla brindisina, heads stuffed with bread, olives, capers, mint, garlic and onion, set on sliced potatoes and baked.

The Atlas of Apulia's traditional products collects other regional recipes. Stuffed artichokes are filled with egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley and pepper and simmered in broth with potatoes or peas; fried artichokes are cut into wedges, dipped in flour and egg and fried in oil.

The small heads of the end of the season, picked between April and May, are preserved in oil: the hearts are blanched in vinegar with lemon and salt and covered with extra virgin olive oil, with garlic, parsley or chilli.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Carciofo Brindisino IGP · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Carciofi ripieni · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Carciofi fritti · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Carciofini sott'olio

Where to taste it

The brindisino artichoke belongs to the countryside of the province of Brindisi. The first twentieth-century surveys placed it mainly around Carovigno, Mesagne, Brindisi and San Vito dei Normanni, the towns from which the crop later spread across the area.

The best time to taste it is the harvest season, from November to May, when fresh artichokes reach the markets of the province and home kitchens. For travellers it is a good reason to discover Brindisi and the towns around it in winter and spring too, following the artichoke season from Mesagne to Carovigno and San Vito dei Normanni.

In spring, with the last heads picked between April and May, people put up preserves in oil, while fried, stuffed or baked artichokes are among the dishes the recipe books of the Apulian tradition mention most often.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Carciofo Brindisino IGP · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Carciofi fritti · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Carciofini sott'olio

Protection

When

Where

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