[thecodont]

Ever eaten a thistle? With really heavy gloves and a good knife, flick or peel the prickles off and you have a great vegetable if you catch it before the flowers open. Really good eating.

What's it like? Mini artichokes?

[mywholebodyisaweapon]

I haven’t tried the flowers. I hear that they are like artichokes.

Tiger’s Eye said it already, so I can’t add much. If you get the stalk before the bloom opens and strip it of thorns with a knife and heavy gloves, it’s crisp but not stringy like celery and has a slightly sweetish taste. They can also be peeled, which does away with the thorns but also the whitish skin that tastes OK. I’d hate to injest one of those thistle thorns, so I usually just peel the stalk for safety’s sake.

It’s a shocker. But if I wait until the flower opens, then the stalk will be stringier and stronger tasting - more like stew ingredients. I suppose if a person waits too long then the plant might be good for cordage...