Artichoke
The blossom of the thistle, improved by the Arabs, passed from Naples to Florence in 1466, carried by Philippo Strozzi. Towards 1480 it is noticed in Venice, as a curiosity. But very soon veers towards the northwest... Artichoke beds are mentioned in Avignon by the notaries from 1532 onward; from the principal towns they spread into the hinterlands... appearing as carchofas at Cavaillon in 1541, at Chateauneuf du Pape in 1553, at Orange in 1554. The local name remains carchofas, from the Italian carciofo... They are very small, the size of a hen's egg... and are still considered a luxury, a vaguely aphrodisiac tidbit that one preserved in sugar syrup.