If artichokes were royalty, Italy would be the king, queen, and court jester all at once. Italy grows about 400,000 tons of them every year—more than any other country. That’s enough artichokes to build a small, edible fortress for a very hungry royal family.
They go absolutely bonkers for the things. Romans eat them raw in salads (yes, raw, you daredevils), and the region of Sicily holds a festival where they crown a literal artichoke queen. I am not kidding. She wears a sash. It’s both majestic and deeply confusing.
