How to cook (and Eat) an Artichoke

Don’t be intimidated by these beautiful vegetables! We can only imagine if you are trying to cook them for the first time that it can be a little unnerving. Well don’t fret – we have step-by-step instructions (with photos) to show you how to prepare, cook and eat your artichokes. We promise they’re worth a try!

Trim about one inch off the tip of the artichoke as shown above. While you can technically eat the stem of the artichoke, it’s a little more stringy to eat than the rest of the artichoke, so we recommend trimming the stem to about an inch.

Place a steaming basket into a large pot and fill with water until it just touches the bottom of the steamer. Put the artichokes on top of the steaming basket and cover with a lid. (Depending on how large your pot is, you might need to replace the water halfway through cooking).

Place the pot on the stove and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Steam for 40 minutes, or until the outer leaves EASILY pull off from the artichoke. Cooking time can vary greatly depending on the size of your artichokes, your pot, and how high off the water your steaming basket is. You may need more or less than 40 minutes to finish the job.

To eat the artichokes, peel off a leaf and place the lighter-colored end in your mouth between your top and bottom teeth, flesh side down. Gently clamp down and scrape the soft, pulpy delicious part of the artichoke leaf off with your teeth. You can choose to dip your artichoke leaves in melted butter or mayonnaise, but they’re also delicious plain.

As you get closer to the center of the artichoke, the leaves will get smaller and there won’t be any flesh left for you to eat.

Keep pulling the leaves until you get to a fuzzy middle (see above). Pluck out the fuzzy part, then carefully scrape the thin layer of grey with a knife or spoon.

The part leftover is the heart! Eat this part dipped in melted butter or mayonnaise and enjoy your hard-earned artichoke work.