Cardoon: Nutrition, Taste and How to Cook the Stalks

Cardoon is a tall Mediterranean thistle grown for its leaf stalks, which look like oversized, silvery celery and taste mildly bitter. It is the same species as the globe artichoke, but you eat the stalks instead of the flower bud. In USDA SR Legacy data, one cup of shredded raw cardoon (178 g) has only about 30 calories, with 30% of the Daily Value for folate, 18% for magnesium and 15% for potassium. Below are the USDA numbers, how cardoon compares with its relatives, the sodium and potassium points worth knowing, and plain kitchen steps for how to cook cardoon.

Peptide Labs does not sell cardoon or cardoon products. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

What is cardoon?

Cardoon is Cynara cardunculus, a perennial plant that the USDA PLANTS database lists as introduced in the lower 48 states. A 2022 review describes the species as a Mediterranean member of the Asteraceae family with three botanical forms: wild cardoon (variety sylvestris), the globe artichoke (variety scolymus) and domesticated cardoon (variety altilis). So cardoon and the globe artichoke are close relatives within one species; growers select the artichoke for its large flower buds and the cardoon for its thick leaf stalks. Our artichoke guide covers the bud.

Cardoon is native to the Mediterranean area, where reviews note it is used in salads and soup dishes and is part of the traditional diet. The plant has uses beyond the kitchen, too. Its flowers are rich in enzymes called aspartic proteases and are used as a vegetable coagulant, a plant-based rennet, in traditional sheep and goat milk cheeses from Spain and Portugal. Researchers also study cardoon as an energy crop.

What does cardoon taste like?

Cooked cardoon tastes like a cross between artichoke and celery: vegetal, slightly bitter and a little nutty. Raw stalks are fibrous and noticeably bitter, which is why most recipes trim, peel and simmer them first. The stalks look like a giant, ribbed version of celery, with a gray-green color and small spines along the edges on some plants.

Cardoon nutrition (USDA SR Legacy)

USDA SR Legacy lists raw and boiled cardoon separately. USDA gives a cup measure only for the raw entry, so the boiled values are per 100 grams. Percentages are of the FDA Daily Values used on food labels.

FDA label guidance counts 20% of the Daily Value or more in a serving as high. By that yardstick, a raw cup of cardoon is high in folate, copper and manganese, but cardoon is mostly water and is not a notable source of vitamin C or protein. USDA lists no vitamin A in raw cardoon and gives no vitamin K value. The boiled entry shows far less folate than the raw one in USDA data; see our folate guide. For magnesium in context, see our guide to magnesium in foods.

Cardoon vs its relatives

Here is raw cardoon next to the globe artichoke, its sister variety, and celery, the vegetable it most resembles, per 100 grams raw in USDA SR Legacy data.

The flower bud of the globe artichoke carries far more fiber and protein than cardoon stalks, while cardoon is closer to celery in calories and fiber. Cardoon has roughly twice the natural sodium of celery per 100 grams in USDA data.

Sodium and potassium in cardoon

Natural sodium is the number that surprises people. In USDA data, a raw cup of cardoon has about 13% of the Daily Value for sodium before any salt is added, and USDA’s entry for cardoon boiled with salt is more than twice the unsalted value per 100 grams. If you watch sodium, season cardoon lightly; our low-sodium foods guide puts these numbers in context.

A raw cup also supplies about 15% of the Daily Value for potassium in USDA data. For most people that is simply part of a varied diet, but NIH notes that people with chronic kidney disease can develop high blood potassium, so anyone on a potassium-restricted diet should follow their clinician’s guidance. See our potassium guide and guide to potassium in foods.

Is cardoon healthy?

As a food, cardoon is a low-calorie vegetable with a useful share of folate, magnesium, potassium and trace minerals, and it is not among the nine major food allergens under US law. Most cardoon research looks at leaf or flower extracts in cells and lab tests, often for industrial uses, and this guide does not turn those results into health promises. Cardoon belongs to the same family as milk thistle, but eating the stalks is not the same as taking an herbal extract. People on a sodium- or potassium-restricted diet should ask their clinician how cardoon fits.

How to cook cardoon

• Trim: wear gloves if the stalks have spines. Cut off the leaves, any leafy edges and the tough base, and discard hollow or very dark outer stalks.
• De-string: run a vegetable peeler or paring knife down the ribs to pull off the strings, as you would with celery.
• Rinse and soak: rinse the stalks under running water, as CDC advises for all produce, then cut them into pieces and drop them into water with lemon juice, since cut cardoon browns quickly.
• Simmer first: cook the pieces in salted or lemony water until tender. This softens the fibers and mellows the bitterness; taste a piece to check.
• Finish: braise with tomatoes or broth, bake in a gratin, fold into stews and soups, or dip in batter and fry.
• Storing: wrap unwashed stalks loosely in a bag in the refrigerator and cook them soon.

For another overlooked daisy-family vegetable, see our salsify guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a food allergy. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Salsify: Nutrition, Taste and How to Cook This Root, Artichoke: Nutrition, Benefits, Hearts and How to Eat One, Celery: Benefits, Nutrition Facts, Allergy and Research.