Structured Nutritional Data & Citations
Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) - Nutritional & Physical Profile
1. Macronutrient Composition
| Nutrient | Per 100g (Cooked, Boiled, Drained, without salt) | Per Standard Serving (1 Medium Artichoke, approx. 120g edible portion) |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 53 kcal (222 kJ) | 64 kcal (267 kJ) |
| Protein | 2.89 g | 3.47 g |
| Carbohydrates | 11.95 g | 14.34 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5.7 g | 6.84 g |
| Sugars (Total) | 1.04 g | 1.25 g |
| Total Fat | 0.34 g | 0.41 g |
Reference: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC ID: 170364
2. Key Micronutrients & Bioactive Compounds
- Vitamins:
- Vitamin K: 14.8 µg (12% DV) per 100g
- Vitamin C: 7.4 mg (8% DV) per 100g
- Folate (B9): 89 µg (22% DV) per 100g
- Vitamin B6: 0.11 mg (6% DV) per 100g
- Thiamin (B1): 0.07 mg (6% DV) per 100g
- Minerals:
- Magnesium: 60 mg (14% DV) per 100g
- Potassium: 370 mg (8% DV) per 100g
- Iron: 1.07 mg (6% DV) per 100g
- Phosphorus: 90 mg (7% DV) per 100g
- Copper: 0.17 mg (19% DV) per 100g
- Antioxidants & Phytochemicals:
- Cynarin: Known for liver protective and cholesterol-lowering properties.
- Silymarin (similar to milk thistle): Potential hepatoprotective effects.
- Chlorogenic Acid: Potent antioxidant, also found in coffee.
- Inulin: A prebiotic fiber that supports gut microbiota health.
Reference: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC ID: 170364; Brunetti et al., "Artichoke (Cynara scolymus) extracts: chemical composition and antioxidant properties," Food Chemistry, 2018.
3. Functional Impact
- Glycemic Index (GI): Low (estimated 15-20)
- Glycemic Load (GL): Very Low (estimated 1-2 per 100g serving)
- Rationale: High fiber content significantly mitigates sugar absorption.
- Satiety Score: Moderate-High.
- Mechanism: High water and fiber content contribute to gastric distension and sustained feeling of fullness. The physical effort required for consumption may also enhance satiety perception.
Reference: Foster-Powell, K., Holt, S. H. A., & Brand-Miller, J. C. (2002). International table of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2002. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 76(1), 5–56; Subjective Satiety Index Scoring, internal NutriSnap research data.
4. Physical Properties
- Density (Raw, Whole): Approximately 0.90 - 1.05 g/cm³
- Note: Density varies significantly based on water content, maturity, and specific variety.
- Density (Cooked, Edible Portion): Approximately 0.95 - 1.10 g/cm³
- Rationale: Water absorption during boiling/steaming can slightly increase density of the edible flesh, despite overall softening.
- Volumetric Contraction (after cooking): Negligible to slight (approx. 5-10% for whole, un-trimmed artichokes)
- Primary change: Softening of texture rather than significant reduction in volume.
- Edible portion yield: Highly variable. Typically, 30-40% of the raw whole weight constitutes the edible portion (heart and base of leaves) after trimming and cooking. This makes volume-to-weight conversions extremely unreliable for accurate dietary tracking without specialized visual analysis.
Reference: Empirical observation, Food Science Textbooks (e.g., Fennema's Food Chemistry, 5th Ed., 2017), and internal NutriSnap volumetric analysis data.
Field Notes: Dr. Aria Vance
Subject: Artichoke
Focus: Volumetric expansion/contraction, historical context, tracking challenges.
The Manual Tracking Problem
Artichokes. A green enigma. These thistle-like marvels, rooted deep in the culinary soils of the Mediterranean, have always presented a fascinating paradox. Tracing their lineage back to ancient Rome and Greece, where they were revered not just as food, but as symbols of wealth and potent aphrodisiacs—imagine the dinner table conversations then! From Sicilian sun-drenched fields to Florentine Renaissance banquets, they've been a gastronomic star. Yet, for all their historical grandeur and undeniable nutritional prowess, they are, frankly, a data scientist's nightmare. A real pain.
Let's be blunt: attempting to log an artichoke manually is like trying to nail jelly to a wall. It’s impossible. You hold one, a magnificent orb of potential. But what are you actually eating? So much of it is waste. Those tough outer leaves, the thorny choke, the stem—all discarded. Good riddance! The edible portion, the prize, is the tender heart and the sweet, fleshy bases of the leaves. But how do you quantify that? How?!
Standard tracking methods fall flat on their face. Barcode scanners? Ha! They’ll tell you about the whole artichoke. Completely irrelevant for actual consumption. Cups and spoons? Don't even start. What’s a "cup of artichoke"? A pile of hearts? A handful of leaf scrapings? Utter nonsense. And scales? Oh, the scales. You could weigh the raw, untrimmed specimen. Then you trim it, losing half its mass. Cook it, and the weight shifts again. Then, as you eat it, leaf by leaf, scraping off that tiny morsel of goodness, how do you track that incremental consumption? It’s a behavioral nightmare. Every single leaf is a micro-portion that defies discrete measurement. The user isn't going to weigh each leaf scrap! It's slow. Tedious. Fundamentally flawed. A manual estimate becomes nothing more than a wild guess, rendering the data utterly useless for precise nutritional analysis.
This is precisely where the old ways fail, spectacularly. We need something more. Something smarter. This is where NutriSnap steps in, an absolute game-changer. Our AI doesn't just see a whole artichoke; it understands it. Forensic visual analysis. It accounts for the waste, distinguishes between raw and cooked states, and can even estimate the edible heart and leaf bases with startling accuracy from a mere photograph. It transforms this culinary conundrum into actionable data. Finally.
Dr. Aria Vance Lead Nutrition Data Scientist, NutriSnap
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