Thank you thank you thank you! I used to eat these when I was a kid and haven't had one for years. I just bought one and you told me exactly what I needed to know. Thanks!

wow i've only had an artichoke once in my life when i was a little kid at a friend's house, and i remember liking it, but i never had once since then! i've been thinking about artichokes ever since! so i just bought one, just one, the other day cause theyre kind of expensive and yes, intimidating, and i had no clue what to do with it but now you've cleared everything up! very helpful, thanks!

Dip suggestion! My father always used to make a variety of dips, but the favorite BY FAR was always garlic butter.

Soften butter (but don't melt it) and mix in some garlic salt to taste. A hot artichoke leaf will melt it just a little when you scoop the butter onto it, and it's just perfect.

I've taken to mashing roasted garlic into my butter and getting the same taste (but better, of course).

I have always been intimidated of fresh artichokes and have been forced to use only canned. Thank you so much for these instructions!!! :)

Two quick comments...one, as you eat an artichoke, there comes a point of diminishing returns with the petals, where they are very thin and spiky, but not quite "the choke" yet. The eater may choose to pull these off and discard them.

Also, instead of covering the pot while cooking the artichoke, you will avoid some bitterness and also avoid that drab brownish green color if you upturn a vegetable steamer (it's sort of shaped like a flower and usually goes under the vegetables in a pot) and put it over the artichokes, and weight it down with a clean rock or a clean piece of brick, to keep the artichokes submerged. This allows the gasses to escape, and the artichoke will taste better and look better!

I'm having a Little Rascals flashback...

"Might have choked Artie but it ain't gonna choke Stymie."

Thanks so much Elise! Just like most people commented, I am intimidated with this vegetable and have never tried to prepare them myself. Now, I know how easy it is and will give it a try when I get one from the farmer's market on Saturday. Keep up the good works!

Elna (London, England)

When we were growing up in Southern California, my mom would trim off some of the base, remove some of the petals around the base but would not cut off parts of each petal. To me, it seems like cutting off parts of the petal removes some of the area to grip the petals when eating.

Best advice I ever heard on artichokes: convince all children in the household that the part under the hairy core is "yucky". Clear away dishes and eat the hearts silently in the kitchen. Bon appetit!

Beautiful photo! And your post brought back a vivid memory - at art school - preparing and eating my first whole artichoke, leaf by leaf, dipping it into a lemony-creamy-mustard sauce [shared with a boyfriend]. I thought it was the epitome of sophistication. ;-) And very sexy. Thanks for the memory.

I come from a large Italian family and have been eating artichokes all my life, but only one way...stuffed! Family generations before me would make a stuffing of mostly Italian breadcrumbs, TONS of garlic (minced, of course), grated parmesan cheese, salt and lots of pepper...oh, and the nectar of the gods - OLIVE OIL...lots lots! Each leaf on the artichoke is stuffed with this delicious mixture, then placed in a large dutch oven to steam. No need for dipping into anything. I like to squirt lemon juice on them just before devouring!!!

My favorite Spinach Artichoke recipe (I've had to give this out to anyone who's ever tasted it):

2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
2 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
2 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Lightly grease a small baking dish.

IN a seperate bowl mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper.

Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

I altered a couple things. For the Parm and Romano cheeses, I just used a 5 cheese blend that was a lot cheaper than buying the 2 separately and I also used that on top instead of mozzarella. Also, I used a *lot* less than a cup of spinach, I just put a couple forkfuls in there!

Yummy. I cannot get my boyfriend to eat these. And everyone I ever new got sick when I told them I dip it in mayo. Just a tiny little bit on the end give it that nice tang. Oooh! I know what i want for dinner.
I love the note on how to pick them out. I always just grabbed which ever one had the least amount of brown. And a corn on the cob and artichoke dinner sounds divine and I bet it is surprisingly filling.

mmmm...I love artichokes. We dipped in just a bit of soy sauce.

My oh my, how gratifying it is to see so many fellow artichoke lovers out there!

My mom told me a funny story tonight. She first cooked artichokes when it was requested of her when she was babysitting during college. The mother would bring home artichokes for mom to cook for the woman's kids. This went on for some time and finally my mom mentioned that it didn't seem to be a lot of food. The mother replied, "Why? You've got the leaves and the heart, that's enough for the kids." "The heart?" my mom replied, "what heart?" She had been throwing them out, and just feeding the kids the leaves! She still shakes her head over this one...

Elise
Your piece gave me a springboard to write a 'Bretton's take on artichokes.
http://sergetheconcierge.typepad.com/stc/2006/02/artichokes_how_.html
I grew up on them ans still eat them regularly.

This is in reply to: Posted by: Elna Smith at February 23, 2006 06:21 AM Any suggestions on how to choose an artichoke when I'm in the grocery store?

Elna - the funny thing about choosing an artichoke is that you don't want to go for the pretty ones. Frostbitten artichokes are better than the rest! So when you're shopping look for these qualities in your artichoke:
- Frostbite! The leaves aren't perfect, they may be even flaking a little on discoloured spots
- The leaves aren't tightly closed, but aren't flaying way open either, find a nice middle ground in the selection available
- Size - they come in all sizes, some areas have more variety, but really, the only thing size determines is how much meat you get from each artichoke

I like putting my chokes in the microwave.. Just wrap in saran wrap and it's approx 4 min per.
As for dip: mayo, lemon juice and fresh ground pepper. just mix to taste. YUM!!

I grew up eating artichokes my dad used to grow them in our garden. My favorite dipping sauce is Hollandaise sauce with a little lemon.

I'm obsessed with artichokes, and I eat them like you do, except I'm too lazy to cut the points off, and I dip in either lemon butter, or just lemon. There's an acid in artichokes that makes liquids taste sweet, so when I was a kid, I'd always drink milk after... it was the only time I enjoyed drinking milk. Great post!

I have a friend whom we introduced to artichokes. He loved them. In fact he was the first one done. When he was through with the leaves he promptly picked up what was left, including the heart and proceded to throw it away. of cource us seasoned artichoke eaters screamed "what are you doing?". We had failed to tell him about the heart. He learned quick, Dave

I just came back from Rome (where I lived for 5 years). Their Artichoke can be cooked and eaten in it's entirety. Of course these Artichokes are only in season during late fall. The tail is the best part. Everything is cooked with the artichokes, Pasta, seafood, meats. The Artichokes are sweeter than ours and the preparation is fairly simple. Usually garlic cloves, olive oil and fresh mint. I was told by a restauranteur in Rome that even our Artichokes can be cooked so that all the meat is easily edible. Mashing it to bits was supposedly the way. I tried it and don't think I was too successful. Even though the taste was good it was still like chewing gum. Maybe I should have steamed it before I mashed it. Any ideas?

Thank you so much for taking away a little of the tension about cooking fresh artichokes. When I brought it to the register, the clerk didnt even know what it was!!! Also I saw a lot of recipes for the canned or frozen artichokes, but fresh is always best. I will throw out the artichoke I have already ruined and head over to Whole foods for a fresh one! I thank everyone sharing their ideas. I will try it with a dip first and then graduate to the stuffed artichoke.

Thanks heaps for the advice. Had an Arti about 25 years ago and it was a nice flavour. Gotta laugh though, we didn't know how to cook it, so we roasted it for about 45 mins in a hot oven. Sooooooo much better the way you guys do it!!! Lol. Not very well known here in Australia. You see a fair few of them around, but, when I ask around, nobody seems to know much about them. Hell, I'm a convert, they're absolutely delicious, and so much better when they're done right. Just finishing off a couple now !!! Thanks a lot and I look forward to trying out the various dips, sauces, stuffings and cooking methods.

This is a GREAT Web site! As Shannon wrote I too have been eating artichoke since about age 4 or 5 and we did cook them considerably longer then the 45min. mentioned. We eat every little leaf including the ones covering the choke. When cooked longer the choke will release from the heart with just the back of a spoon and fall off intact. One thing not mentioned was bug's. If after cleaning and cooking you find a few leaves with holes and possibly a small worm like well cooked critter not to worry, as my Dad would say it hasn't eaten any thing different then we are eating just scrape it off and continue enjoying it. We use melted butter for dipping kept warm with one of those candle warmers.
I found this site out of desperation as for the last month we haven't found any ARTICHOKES here in New Mexico and my mouth is watering.

Thank you so much for the help. I just moved to Italy for a few years and have bought fresh artichokes, but have been ruining them. Thank you so much for the clear explanations and pictures, I now know my family will enjoy them even more!!

My grandmother would make it in a similar fashion. She'd stuff the artichokes though. Usually a mixture of parmesan cheese (little pieces), garlic and some onion. We'd never use dip.

THANK YOU for such great pics. For people like me who are trying to teach themselves how to cook, your recipes with pictures are GRRR-eat!

Oh my gosh the memories! I adored artichokes as a teen. My family weren't big on them, but I loved them. When I was pregnant, I had a nice garden and grew artichokes too. Heck I grew everything I could for two years(plus side of living in East Bay) Those plants became huge, and the artichokes were great. Big or small, didn't matter, I cut them every other day, and had a nice snack, or simple lunch. Warning two plants can feed 6 if tended well, for many months. Friends and family may become tired of them.

I love the lemon butter, but my dad also does a homemade herbed mayo that's delish.

And, I'm sorry, but I must disagree - the best way to eat them is dip side up, scraping the pulp with your top teeth. That way the dip doesn't drip on your shirt. (I also have my suspicions that people who do it dip side down also hang their toilet paper so it feeds from below the roll - totally wrong!) :)

Awesome... this is making me lust for an artichoke. When I was a kid, my mom would cook artichokes every so once in a while, and our dipping sauce would be mayonnaise. This post has given me the courage to try it again, and upgrade the method and sauce a bit.

When I was in Tunisia we were server artichokes with a simple sauce of about 5 parts olive oil and 1 part mustard. It was amazing!

Elise!

I hope you read this. I've been a fan or your website for over a year now and have never posted. I was delighted to see you take on the artichoke. I wonder if you've ever used a pressure cooker?

I know they are out of fashion but they are amazing gadgets. I've found that you can never can the tenderness you get with the pressure cooker from steaming an artichoke.

Recipe:

Wash artichokes.
Place slivers of garlic liberally throughout the leaves.
Place in the bottom of the pressure cooker (preferably on a rack).
Pour olive oil liberally over the top of artichokes.
Add about an inch of water,.
Salt.
Pressure for about 30 minutes.

Artichoke leaves are delicious, but just a lead up to the creamy rich and delicate artichoke bottom! just got two artichokes and now I have to eat them!

Hi to all of you....In Italy the artychokes are a common vegetable to eat..especially on Easter break when we cook them on a BBQ...they are very good also cut in small slices and then fried in a pan with "olive oil"...and please forget the microwave thing!!!cook them in the traditional way it is better! Believe me!

Ciao a tutti!

I trim them up, making sure there is a flat bottom. I then put them in a glass/ceremic dish that will hold 2 of them, with a little water. I sprinkle with some lemon pepper and cover. I then put them in the microwave and cook for about 10 minutes depending on size. Then I eat them with a mayonise garlic mix. YUM. Yum. Yum.

If you poke the garlic clove down the middle of the artichoke before cooking (pulls apart easily so you can do this), you get an increasingly wonderful garlicky flavor as you eat your way through the artichoke. Try a dip made from olive oil, lemon juice, pressed garlic (yes, more garlic), salt and pepper. If you use more lemon juice than oil, you have the advantage of a more healthful and flavorful dressing than those that are mayo-based.

Here in Chile artichokes are a really common thing to eat, and I LOOOVE them, specially the "heart". It isn't really hard to eat them, and usually here people eat them with mayo or with a lemon-aceto dressing; I like both of the choices. Artichoke lasagna is pretty awesome too.

How fun! I saw some artichokes at the store today and bought them on a whim. My mom never made them, but when she went out of town,our fun babysitter always did and I haven't had them since I was a kid. Your directions were so easy. I was very happy to stumble upon them as well. The artichokes are steaming away.. and I can't wait to try them again! Thanks! :)

Hi Megan - as mentioned earlier in the comments, your taste buds are on your tongue, not on the roof of your mouth, so by turning the artichoke leaf upside down, you are getting more of the dipping sauce on your tongue where you can taste it better.

Of course, this works when you use mayo, which sticks well to the artichoke. If you use a dipping sauce that drips, or is crumbly, better to keep the petal facing up!

Grilled artichokes can be wonderful.
After washing, cut artichokes lengthwise. With a small sharp knife remove the choke. If you're careful it can be removed without making a mess.
Steam the halved artichokes for about 30 minutes until tender.
Remove from steamer and place the halves on a plate. Spray olive oil on each half, sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
Place the artichoke halves face down on a preheated grill.
Grill until lightly browned. Enjoy ;)

Thank you so much, I had no idea how to eat an artichoke. This was great help! Thanks again. =)

Thanks for the info on ways of preparing artichokes; but really there is an extremely easy way of doing it. Cut off the base, put a couple ounces of water in a microwaveable bowl, add artichoke, squeeze juice of a lemon over bulb, sprinkle with olive oil, and a dash of oregano. Cook on high heat for 8-9 minutes. Remove, and serve with your choice of dipping sauces.

I am amazed that with all the different types of cooking and eating an artichoke, no one ever mentions cardoons (or cardoonies, as grandma use to call them). The celery type leaves she would take off and cut them in small pieces, boil them until very tender. I am growing some now that I had to order. When tender dip in egg and flour and fry in olive oil. My grandmother was 14 and her husband was 18 when the US used to send boats to Sicily to recruit immigrants. Not like now. She grew everything out of her garden and lived to 102. (Scusie my Italian wording.)

My favorite dip is half part mayo and half sour cream (I like a bit more sour cream) and lemon juice. Mmmm.

Thanks. I had Artichoke hearts once a while back and decided tonight to get adventurous and buy a couple artichokes. I'm looking forward to preparing and eating them.

I am a CA native living in Peru in the Cusco area. I recently purchased some local artichokes and was really excited to try them, as its been a few years since having one, but to my surprise, it took well over 4 hours for the chokes to be ready and even then they were not as soft as I would of liked, but I could not wait any longer. I think presure cooker is the asnwer, to compensate for the altitude.

Thank you so much for mentioning the pressure cooker. My mom has been making artichokes like this for years and I always wonder why no one else suggested it.

I don't have a pressure cooker but, as usual, your post explains how to cook an artichoke so easily that I can barely wait to get to the store tomorrow. :)

My mum stuffs them with a mixture of fresh bread crumbs, garlic and tuna fish. You can add capers too if you wish.
She also makes "polpetti" out of them by scraping the leaves (extremely delicious but very time consuming).
Bon Appetite

I absolutely love to eat artichokes this way. I always find the cooking time a little tricky. Seems like it always takes 45 minutes of time. I like to make a dip with mayo, lemon juice and curry powder. Yum!

Thanks for the wonderful tips on cooking artichokes. I was first introduced to artichokes in Italy, where I ate carciofo crudo, or raw artichoke. Eaten exactly the same way as your recipe, with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper mixed to dip it in. Amazing!

WOW, growing up Italian, my artichokes were always baked with the bread crumbs. I don't remember when, sometime in high school, started making hollandaise sauce for dipping. Never heard of the mayo idea. Sounds awfully processed. Keep it natural and go to the true butter based and home made sauces. Artichokes deserve the best!

For a dipping sauce my fiance uses melted butter and mayo. I know, how fattening right? But wow what a flavor. I kind of like them plain but that's because I try to avoid fat whenever possible.

Thanks for the tips!!

Totally perfect! We were such gluttons tonight, followed your directions and had an artichoke each for dinner! Lovely! This link was perfect to learn just what we needed to know :)

I come from Naples, Italy.... and here is another recipe that you might like also

"Carciofi dorati e fritti"
(Fried golden brown Heartchokes)

Clean the heartchokes as you would when they get boiled, but also clean every bit of the hard tops and sides (peel off the hard skin or flash off the stems, which is also edible) than place the knife halfway through the body and cut the tops all off togheter cut the leaves in half (toss the nidleey leaves parts (the tips that is...leave the tender part) than cut it in a half longways than cut it again until you have 8 pcs. take the small fuzzy part out, than blanch them in salted water for about 2 minutes.they will turn a pretty green...
drain, heat some olive oil in a frying pan , roll the pieces in flower first than egg/s (wisked,w/ salt and pepper of course) fry til golden/brown, place them on paper towels and drizzle with seasalt and pepper...MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!Delicious!!

another recipe:

"Carciofi Affocati"
(Choked Heartchokes)

When you have blanched the heartchoke & drained as above prepare with some extra vergin olive oil in a pan toss the drained heartchokes (no flower or egg, this time) and place them into the heated pan add capers and greek olive without the seeds, salt pepper and italian parsley cook til tender 25/35 minutes ...put on italian bread and mangia.. delicoius....
I hope that you like it..
Buon appetito per i buon gustai...Ciao!
Anna

The only dip I have ever had: Apple Cider Vinegar! Yum!

I never see artichokes in Sainsburys :-(.
But we went over to France yesterday and the wife saw them in great piles in the store.
She wanted to try one, but didn't know what to do. She does that a lot with new foods :-)
I found this page and remembered the one time when I was a kid and mum cooked one. We came from american/scillian background and gran always does cardoons and artichokes.
It was great and the balsamic/mayo dip was really good.
My 9 year old son turned his nose up, but my 14 year old son had a go. He tries anything, including leaves!
Thank you!

I've eaten artichokes all my life.
The sauce I eat is more simple: corn oil, vinegar and salt. Try it!

Thank you for the helpful information! My husband is an Italian that grew up in New York eating artichokes as a kid at almost every meal. I had to make some for him tonight, but didn't know how to cook them. He didn't remember himself either, because his Great Grandmother used to cook them, along with his Great Grandfather. The artichokes were a success, thanks to you! We enjoyed them immensely.

another dip:
Mayo, lime juice, ketchup, ancho chilli powder, garlic powder, dash of horseradish if u have some.

The bay leaf tip was genius:)

Very helpful - thank you!

Growing up we used to eat them with plain yogurt mixed with lipton onion soup mix. Delicious.

WOW! This is amazing! MMMM, mayo and balsamic vinegar is fantastic. It was also great with mustard and wasabi...Mmmm! I recommend everyone eats this glorious vegetable all the time! Cheers!

I learned to love the noble artichoke from my parents. We always considered them a great treat! Now as a father, I've gotten my children hook on them too. Here are some more dipping sauce suggestions: 1) Green Goddess salad dressing. 2) Ranch salad dressing. 3)Olive oil 4)Red Wine vinegar. Enjoy!

Great sauce that we use is mayonaise mixed with horseradish. Awesome if you like a little kick.

Thank you. Cumin added to your mayo and balsamic vinegar makes great dip. Good with asparagus too.

My wonderful wife mixes shredded cheddar cheese, mayo and milk on low heat for a dipping sauce. It is absolutely incredible with artichokes. I love your site.

I was raised eating artichokes regularly and have fond memories of those days, since it's been about 15 years since I've had one! I actually read through all (most# of the comments here just to reminisce about my childhood #pretty sad eh?#. It's been way too long and I think I'm going to go and get me one ;)

Anyways, my father always used to make a dipping sauce with just olive oil, lemon juice and seasoned with salt and pepper - delicious. Funny thing is, in all the years I had eaten them, I never even conceived the idea that any other sauce could, would or should be used so this article has really opened up my eyes.

There's mention here of the tiny (spikey) inner leaves that can be discarded. In my experience there were always a few different varieties and, from memory, some have leaves that progressively become softer, the closer you get to the heart, so that eventually, the entire leaves can be eaten whole. The same variety also lacks the 'fuzzy' choke mentioned here so that the only part of the artichoke that is discarded is the outer leaves. If you can find this variety, it's so much better than its woody counterpart.

Also, I was taught to always drink a glass of water after eating the heart and enjoy the natural sweetness the artichoke imparts to it. Enjoy!

Of course! I totally forgot about the water at the end. Isn't it weird that if you drink a little water after eating artichoke it makes the water taste sweet? Love that. And I do remember as a child picking at the small tender inside leaves and eating as much of them as I could. Some you could eat whole. Nothing was ever wasted, every bite was so precious. ~Elise

What a great tutorial. Seems easy enough to follow. I bought my first artichoke the other day (only because it was huge and only $1!)and needed to learn how to cook it, aside from what another customer was telling me. lol. Thanks!