Editing Cardoon (section)

===Culinary===
{{more references|section|date=February 2021}}
While the flower buds can be eaten much as small (and spiny) [[artichoke]]s, more often the stems are eaten after being [[braised]] in cooking liquid. Cardoon stems are part of [[Lyonnaise cuisine]] (e.g. ''gratin de cardons''). Only the innermost, white stalks are considered edible, and cardoons are therefore usually prepared for sale by protecting the leaf stalks from the sunlight for several weeks. This was traditionally done by burying the plant underground, thus, cardoon plantations in Spain are often formed by characteristic earth mounds surrounding each plant, the earth covering the stalks. In modern cultivation, the plant is usually instead wrapped in black plastic film or other opaque material.

The flower buds of wild cardoons are still widely collected and used in southern [[Italy]] and [[Sicily]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pignone |first1=Domenico |last2=Sonnante |first2=Gabriella |title=Wild artichokes of south Italy: did the story begin here? |journal=Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution |date=2004 |volume=51 |issue=6 |pages=577–580 |doi=10.1023/B:GRES.0000024786.01004.71|s2cid=23558636 }}</ref> In [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]], the flower buds are also employed in [[cheesemaking]]: the [[pistils]] of the cardoon flower are used as a vegetable [[rennet]] in the making of some cheeses such as the [[Torta del Casar]] and the [[La Serena cheese|Torta de la Serena]] cheeses in Spain, or the [[Queijo de Nisa]] and [[Queijo Serra da Estrela|Serra da Estrela]] cheeses in Portugal.  Cardoons were also said to have been used by the Romani or "gypsies" and this would make sense as their encampments would often be situated near sources of water.  The vegetable was free for the picking, and could account for the widespread use of the plant.  That part is speculative.

Cardoon leaf stalks, which look like giant celery stalks, can be served steamed or braised, and have an artichoke-like flavor with a hint of bitterness. They are harvested in winter and spring, being best just before the plant flowers.<ref name=pfaf/> In the [[Abruzzo]] region of Italy, Christmas lunch is traditionally started with a soup of cardoon cooked in chicken broth with little meatballs (lamb or, more rarely, beef), sometimes with the further addition of egg (which scrambles in the hot soup – called ''stracciatella'') or fried chopped liver and heart.<ref>{{cite web|title=Brodo Con I Cardi (Ricetta tipica abruzzese)|url=http://www.cucinainsimpatia.net/viewtopic.php?t=5900|website=Cucina In Simpatia|access-date=13 October 2016|language=it|trans-title=Cardoon soup (typical Abruzzese recipe)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013223012/http://www.cucinainsimpatia.net/viewtopic.php?t=5900|archive-date=13 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The cardoon stalks are considered a delicacy in [[Spain]], particularly in the northerns regions of [[Navarre]] and [[Aragon]], where they are grown in large quantities.<ref name="turismo.navarra.es">{{cite web|url=http://www.turismo.navarra.es/esp/organice-viaje/recurso/GastronomiayVinos/3334/Cardo.htm |title=Cardo Turismo Navarra |access-date=2015-01-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215210103/http://www.turismo.navarra.es/esp/organice-viaje/recurso/GastronomiayVinos/3334/Cardo.htm |archive-date=2015-02-15 }}</ref>  In Spain, cardoons are typically cooked by first boiling the stalks to soften them, and then adding simple sauces such as [[almond]] sauce or small amounts of [[jamón]]; they are sometimes combined with [[clams]], [[artichokes]], or [[beans]] as well.

Because of their seasonality (from November to February), cardoons are a staple of the [[Christmas dinner]] in Navarre and the surrounding regions; for the same reason, cardoons are often sold as vegetable preserves, usually in water or [[brine]], so that they can be eaten all year round.<ref name="turismo.navarra.es"/> Cardoons are an ingredient in one of the national dishes of Spain, the ''[[cocido madrileño]]'', a slow-cooking, one-pot, meat and vegetable dish simmered in broth.

In [[Crete]], cardoons are eaten raw, with a drizzle of lemon juice, as a [[meze]], and are considered an excellent accompaniment for [[Tsikoudia|raki]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cretangastronomy.gr/2011/05/omes-agkinares/|title=Raw cardoons|last=Kassapaki|first=Vaggelio|date=2011-05-27|website=cretangastronomy.gr|language=el|accessdate=2024-04-22}}</ref>

In the US, it is rarely found in conventional grocery stores but is available in supermarkets that cater to largely Italian and European neighborhoods in the mid Atlantic states,
as well as some [[farmers' market]]s in the months of May, June, and July.  As suggested above, they become available in the late autumn near Thanksgiving and Christmas. The main root can also be boiled and served cold.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cardoon – General information |url=http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/mod01/01600689.html |access-date=2006-11-18 |date=August 3, 1999 |publisher=Michigan State University Extension |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207091841/http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/mod01/01600689.html |archive-date=2005-02-07 }}</ref> The stems are also traditionally served battered and fried at [[Solemnity of Saint Joseph|St. Joseph's altars]] in New Orleans. 

Cardoons can also be found in their "wild" state, on the banks of streams and rivers, and even drainage ditches on the sides of roads in rural areas.  These plants look little like the cultivated variety found in stores.  They have many thin stems with broad broad leaves at their ends.  There is a reddish color on the stems, which grow tough, hollow and inedible as they age. The wild ones are picked in the spring and early summer.  To use them, the leafy part should be removed, and the stems cleaned of "stringy" fibers.

Cardoon is one of the herbs used to flavour [[Amaro (liqueur)|Amaro]] liqueur, which may be called ''Cardamaro''.