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In preparing food to eat on Yom Tov,we must be sensitive to the fact that some foods involve so much hard workwhich can be done prior to the holiday that it is recommended they not bebothered with on Yom Tov or done only in an unusual manner.
An example of this is cutting offexcess leaves from vegetables, which cannot be done with the scissors that are normally used for this purpose. Even so,foods whose preparation is complicated can be cooked and eaten on YomTov. Kundas (artichokes) and akaviyot (cardoon)are examples of such foods.
The kundas is identified as Cynara scolymus –the Globe artichoke – a perennial, thistle-like plant that grows to a height ofone meter. Akaviyot are identified as Cynaracardunculus – cardoon – which is a member of the thistlefamily and related to the Globe artichoke.
It seems that this humble-looking vegetable was once the centreof attentionin the black market and the criminal world. Known for its notoriousinvolvement with the Mafia, its infamy began in the 1920’s with gangsterCiro Terranova “Whitey” also known as the Artichoke King. It led to the artichoke wars….