What do you drink with artichokes?
June 30, 2017 1:30 PM Subscribe
I accidentally grew a shocking number of artichokes. This has resulted in inviting lots of people over to help eat them (usually steamed and with garlic butter). What should we drink?
The other day I absently took a swig of strong, bitter IPA after eating an artichoke and was reminded why never to do that. I like them with some dry white wines but feel like there must be other options.
So - what are your favorite beverages to have with artichokes? Some of our people are pregnant, sober, etc. so alcoholic or otherwise is fine.
The other day I absently took a swig of strong, bitter IPA after eating an artichoke and was reminded why never to do that. I like them with some dry white wines but feel like there must be other options.
So - what are your favorite beverages to have with artichokes? Some of our people are pregnant, sober, etc. so alcoholic or otherwise is fine.
If you're throwing an artichoke party, I think you're obligated to offer Cynar. Perhaps serve cocktails with orange juice and soda water, garnished with an artichoke leaf.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:51 PM on June 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:51 PM on June 30, 2017 [8 favorites]
Apparently there's a compound in artichokes called cynarin (same root as the name of the Cynar liqueur that Faint of Butt mentioned) that causes most other foods to taste sweet after eating it. In fact, experiments in the 1970s showed that artichokes made plain water taste sweet up to 4 or 5 minutes later.
However, an exception is red wine, which ends up tasting bitter. This article in Eater by sommelier Sarah Knoefler goes into more detail and offers some more suggestions for drinks to pair with artichokes.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:55 PM on June 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
However, an exception is red wine, which ends up tasting bitter. This article in Eater by sommelier Sarah Knoefler goes into more detail and offers some more suggestions for drinks to pair with artichokes.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:55 PM on June 30, 2017 [17 favorites]
Response by poster: These ideas all sound lovely. I have a charcoal grill and smoky nut shell briquettes, so am going to use the grilled one for sure.
Will mention for others - I don't know if it's the variety, the freshness, or some consequence of instant pot steaming, but these are the sweetest and most floral artichokes I've ever eaten. (And I've eaten a lot of artichokes.) There's a very powerful sweet aftertaste that clashes very hard with hops and will definitely interact with other flavors more than the average artichoke.
posted by centrifugal at 1:55 PM on June 30, 2017
Will mention for others - I don't know if it's the variety, the freshness, or some consequence of instant pot steaming, but these are the sweetest and most floral artichokes I've ever eaten. (And I've eaten a lot of artichokes.) There's a very powerful sweet aftertaste that clashes very hard with hops and will definitely interact with other flavors more than the average artichoke.
posted by centrifugal at 1:55 PM on June 30, 2017
Artichokes are my absolute favourite pizza topping, so I would serve an artichoke pizza (full pizza spec: standard or thin crust, tomato sauce, goat cheese, artichokes, pepperoni, red onion, sliced fresh tomatoes, mushrooms).
I would therefore recommend a really good dry or medium-sweet cider. These will vary locally, but I prefer West Avenue (when I can get it), Michel Jodoin, Bulwark, or something from Brickworks or Pommies.
posted by Fish Sauce at 1:59 PM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I would therefore recommend a really good dry or medium-sweet cider. These will vary locally, but I prefer West Avenue (when I can get it), Michel Jodoin, Bulwark, or something from Brickworks or Pommies.
posted by Fish Sauce at 1:59 PM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
A lightly sweetened lemonade with an herbal component will play nicely with artichokes if people like a squeeze of lemon on them. For fanciness you could make meyer lemonade with a bit of basil syrup, oohlala~
This might be a little weird but I love tomatoes with artichokes so I bet a bloody mary would be great, especially if it's lunch or brunch. (Artichoke heart eggs benedict!)
Unlike ZaphodB I think artichokes have tons of specific artichoke flavor (have you ever tried substituting something else for them in a recipe? Impossible!) so I feel like very lightly flavored drinks will work great to emphasize their unadulterated taste. Something like soda water with just a few savory garnishes (a little onion, those big caper berries, green olives, whole leafy herbs) and spiked or not with vodka or gin. Or tea that's very low in tannins, like white tea, iced and served with a splash of fruit juice or syrup.
posted by Mizu at 2:05 PM on June 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
This might be a little weird but I love tomatoes with artichokes so I bet a bloody mary would be great, especially if it's lunch or brunch. (Artichoke heart eggs benedict!)
Unlike ZaphodB I think artichokes have tons of specific artichoke flavor (have you ever tried substituting something else for them in a recipe? Impossible!) so I feel like very lightly flavored drinks will work great to emphasize their unadulterated taste. Something like soda water with just a few savory garnishes (a little onion, those big caper berries, green olives, whole leafy herbs) and spiked or not with vodka or gin. Or tea that's very low in tannins, like white tea, iced and served with a splash of fruit juice or syrup.
posted by Mizu at 2:05 PM on June 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
I don't have any suggestions but just want to say that this sounds like the best party ever.
posted by missjenny at 6:11 PM on June 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by missjenny at 6:11 PM on June 30, 2017 [12 favorites]
Martinis. Gin (which I would recommend) or vodka (which I would grudgingly accept). The former wine guy at my local shop recommended straight (good) vermouth.
posted by lazuli at 6:52 PM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by lazuli at 6:52 PM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sparkling water.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 6:57 PM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 6:57 PM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
(You can substitute brussels sprouts for artichokes.)
The herbed lightly-sweetened lemonade sounds it's on the right track right to me.
posted by aniola at 7:26 PM on June 30, 2017
The herbed lightly-sweetened lemonade sounds it's on the right track right to me.
posted by aniola at 7:26 PM on June 30, 2017
I wish I could come to your artichoke party.
I regularly steam an artichoke and enjoy it with a glass of Malbec or Pinot Noir.
posted by pazazygeek at 8:07 PM on June 30, 2017
I regularly steam an artichoke and enjoy it with a glass of Malbec or Pinot Noir.
posted by pazazygeek at 8:07 PM on June 30, 2017
The article hurdy gurdy girl linked tells you all you need to know, so it's just a question of how you want to address the artichokes pseudo-sweetness (and florality).
May I just suggest the stark-but-brilliant Roman Jewish recipe of just frying them (when they're not too grown, and still hairless inside) whole? Carciofi alla giudia.
posted by progosk at 2:59 AM on July 1, 2017
May I just suggest the stark-but-brilliant Roman Jewish recipe of just frying them (when they're not too grown, and still hairless inside) whole? Carciofi alla giudia.
posted by progosk at 2:59 AM on July 1, 2017
(Oh, and: no need to overdo the lemon thing, it's just a useful trick against oxidising discolouring.)
posted by progosk at 3:03 AM on July 1, 2017
posted by progosk at 3:03 AM on July 1, 2017
The sweetness effect of artichokes really affects wine and beer. How about vodka, lemonade, and a variety of basil, different mints (mint can be spearmint, lemon, orange, etc.) and lemon and lime wedges. People can choose if they want their drink herb-y. Or inexpensive bubbly; the artichoke argues against expensive wine, as the flavor will be so affected, but having dry-ish champagne a bit sweeter is ok. What a fantastic treat.
posted by theora55 at 12:42 PM on July 1, 2017
posted by theora55 at 12:42 PM on July 1, 2017
I vote for Cynar sours.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 9:35 PM on July 1, 2017
posted by Joseph Gurl at 9:35 PM on July 1, 2017
Response by poster: Update: We had the first round of artichoke parties and served lightly sweetened fizzy lemonade made with orange thyme simple syrup, good vermouth, and very dry white wine! The next one will involve Cynar cocktails, now that I've figured out where to buy it. Also, artichokes grilled on smoky charcoal are wonderful. Thanks, everyone.
posted by centrifugal at 3:59 PM on July 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by centrifugal at 3:59 PM on July 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've had good luck pairing artichokes with dry whites like chablis and frascati. The artichokes bring out new flavors in the wine, and I'm really not usually successful with the whole wine/food pairing thing.
posted by missmobtown at 4:11 PM on July 3, 2017
posted by missmobtown at 4:11 PM on July 3, 2017
Good vermouth is an excellent choice indeed, centrifugal.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:18 PM on July 3, 2017
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:18 PM on July 3, 2017
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Steamed and with butter? You're right about white wines, though I'd go off-dry to counteract the bitterness of steamed chokes.
One of my favourite ways to prepare them is grilled over smoky charcoal, with a creamy mustard dipping sauce. At that point I'd go with a light but boozy red.
Pickled artichokes? A Czech pils. Fried in batter? IPA. Baked in a cheese dip? Back to the white wine.
I could go on for a while - I really like artichokes - but as a rule of thumb I would base your beverage to match whatever flavours the method of preparation is bringing, not on the artichokes themselves.
posted by ZaphodB at 1:42 PM on June 30, 2017 [5 favorites]