Artichoke Facts

A relative of the thistle, the delicately flavored glove or French artichoke is considered a sophisticated vegetable despite its family background.

Artichokes do not have great nutritive value, but they contain small amounts of many vitamins and minerals that are important insofar as they supplement other foods in the diet.

When shopping look for plump, heavy globes, compact scales (leaves); brown spots, indicating frost, are acceptable. Artichokes are in season from September to May.

How To Use

Due to the manner in which whole artichokes must be eaten, they are often served as an appetizer or as a separate course during the meal. Or, they may be stuffed with meat, fish, poultry, or fresh vegetables, and served either hot or chilled as a main dish salad.

To eat a whole artichoke pull off the leaves or petals one by one and dip the base (the light colored end) into melted butter, mayonnaise, Hollandaise, or other seasoned sauce. Eat only the tender part of the leaf by drawing it between the teeth. Discard the remaining less tender end.

To Cook Artichokes

Allow 1 artichoke for each serving. Remove any discolored leaves and the small leaves at base of artichoke; trim stem even with base of arti¬choke. Cutting straight across, slice 1 inch off top; discard top. Snip off points of the remain¬ing leaves with scissors. Rinse artichoke under cold water.

To prevent leaves from spreading during cook¬ing, tie string around artichoke and from top to bottom to hold leaves in place. Invert cleaned artichoke in bowl containing 1 tablespoon lemon juice for each quart of water. (This prevents edges from discoloring.)

Artichokes should be cooked in large kettle. For 4 medium artichokes, heat 6 quarts water, 1/4 cup salad oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, quartered, and 1 teaspoon salt to boiling. Add artichokes; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 30 to 40 minutes, rotating occasionally, or until leaves pull out easily and bottom is tender when pierced with a knife. Remove artichokes carefully from water (use tongs or two large spoons); place upside down to drain.

To Serve as a Chilled First Course

Cool artichokes; cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Remove string. Cut out choke if de¬sired. (Choke is the fuzzy growth covering arti¬choke heart.) Open each artichoke like a flower to reach the interior. Pull out tender center cone of leaves; scrape off exposed choke with spoon. Replace cone of leaves if desired.

Place each artichoke in center of a luncheon plate or special artichoke plate. Accompany with a small cup of Hollandaise Sauce or a seasoned butter sauce. If choke has been removed, the cavity can be filled with the sauce.

TO Serve as a Hot First Course

Remove string but do not remove choke. Place artichoke upright on plate. Accompany with a small cup of Hollandaise Sauce or a seasoned butter sauce.

TO Eat Artichokes

Pluck leaves one at a time. Dip base of leaf into a sauce or lemon butter. Turn leaf meaty side down and draw between teeth, scraping off meaty portion. Discard leaf on plate.

When all outer leaves have been removed, a center cone of small light-colored leaves cover¬ing the fuzzy center choke will be exposed (un¬less, of course, the choke has been removed be¬fore serving).

Pull or cut off cone of leaves. Slice off fuzzy choke with knife and fork; discard. Cut the remaining “heart,” the prize section, into bite-size pieces; dip into sauce.
To reach the artichoke’s “heart,” slice off the fuzzy choke.

How To Store

Wrap unwashed artichokes in a plastic bag or in clear plastic wrap and refrigerate. They should keep satisfactorily for several days. At cool temperatures artichokes may be sprinkled lightly with water to minimize wilting and drying. At warm temperatures, sprinkling may cause decay where the water settles between the leaves.