# Artichoke question



## urmaniac13 (Jan 10, 2006)

We have been having difficulties cooking artichokes just right, or wonder just how much of the whole head can be "edible", and I wonder if anyone has a good suggestion....

We usually take off the few outer layers that seem utterly "invincible", then cut off the thorny part and cook in a pressure cooker with evoo, white wine, garlic, flat leaved parsley and salt (traditional artichoke roman style).
We have been continuously extending the cooking time, the last time for almost an hour (which is a LOT with a pressure cooker), but the most of the leaves remain very, very tough, all we can do with them is to scrape off the soft "meaty" inside from each leaves for eating, and discard the tough outside.  From what I heard if they are cooked enough the whole leaves should be edible, but this getting to seem impossible, as if we cooked too much longer we are afraid the best part, the heart may melt away.  
If we are to eliminate all the tough leaves barely more than the heart will remain, and as there are delicious "inner layer" sticking to the tough leaves, to eliminate all the leaves seems like such a pity.

Is there a trick to soften these leaves, or what we are doing (scraping off the inside from each leaves) is the best that can be done?  Any input will be appreciated!!


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## texasgirl (Jan 10, 2006)

I've never had artichoke. What does it taste like? Is all of what you have to do to it, worth the trouble?
Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your question, I just had to ask.


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## urmaniac13 (Jan 10, 2006)

*YES!!*  If they were not so delicious we wouldn't go through such troubles, naturally!!   It is difficult to explain how it taste because they are really different from any other vegetables that I know, I only can say tasting is believing!!
Maybe you can find a bottled mini artichokes marinated in evoo (usually imported from Italy), they are already treated so you can eat straight away, good for appetizers, or pizza topping, tossing with pasta or salads, they are also tasty and you can get a good idea how it tastes, but the fresh ones are so much better!!  I hope you can find it in shops near you... since you are from Texas, if there is a big H.E.B. (I remember there were some HEBs much bigger and more complete than other regular HEBs, something that could have been called super H.E.B....) they may have it... it is worth a try!!


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## GB (Jan 10, 2006)

What you described Licia is actually the way it is supposed to be. Most of the leaves will always be too tough to eat. It is just that little bit at the end where it attaches to the heart that is edible. The way you scrape the leaves over your teeth to get the meat is exactly the right way to eat them. It is a lot of work for very little food. Once you get down further then the leaves become much more tender and you can eat the whole thing. The you get to the heart and choke. Remove the choke with a knife and eat the heat. That part makes all the work worth while!


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## urmaniac13 (Jan 10, 2006)

Ah, okay GB so you have been enjoying the artichoke just as we do, we are not the only one!!  Every time they leave a big mound of discarded "toughies" and seemed to us like a lot of waste, and we were wondering if there were some ways to make them edible... but even if we have to settle for that, they ARE worth the effort!!


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## GB (Jan 10, 2006)

Depending on the preparation that is how I do it. Other times I will just trim ALL the tough leaves off. It makes the artichoke a lot smaller in the end (looks like just the heart with a few leaves. We enjoy scraping the leaves on our teeth though. It forces us to eat slower which is something we need from time to time


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## mish (Jan 10, 2006)

I've never used a pressure cooker. I steam them in the microwave. Claire gives some excellent advice here on 4/17:

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f7/artichoke-reminder-9876.html?highlight=artichokes

and more info here:

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f18/artichokes-14701.html?highlight=artichokes


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## urmaniac13 (Jan 10, 2006)

Thanks for the links Mish, gave me some good ideas for the next experiment with artichokes... (we just used up the frozen batch from the last season, but it will soon be spring for the next fresh arrivals...)
I never thought of using mike but yes, I do indeed steam other veggies in the microwave, I found it very effective. We will give it a try next time!


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## texasgirl (Jan 10, 2006)

urmaniac13 said:
			
		

> *YES!!* If they were not so delicious we wouldn't go through such troubles, naturally!! It is difficult to explain how it taste because they are really different from any other vegetables that I know, I only can say tasting is believing!!
> Maybe you can find a bottled mini artichokes marinated in evoo (usually imported from Italy), they are already treated so you can eat straight away, good for appetizers, or pizza topping, tossing with pasta or salads, they are also tasty and you can get a good idea how it tastes, but the fresh ones are so much better!! I hope you can find it in shops near you... since you are from Texas, if there is a big H.E.B. (I remember there were some HEBs much bigger and more complete than other regular HEBs, something that could have been called super H.E.B....) they may have it... it is worth a try!!


 
Well, I guess I will have to try the jarred ones first before I go through all the steps in cooking them. Thanks UR!


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## mish (Jan 10, 2006)

urmaniac13 said:
			
		

> Maybe you can find a bottled mini artichokes marinated in evoo (usually imported from Italy)...


 
They are readily available in the US.


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## GB (Jan 10, 2006)

texasgirl said:
			
		

> Well, I guess I will have to try the jarred ones first before I go through all the steps in cooking them. Thanks UR!


The jarred marinated ones taste drastically different from the fresh kind. They are completely different animals in my opinion. Both are delicious though.


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## Gretchen (Jan 10, 2006)

*As has been said, artichoke leaves are*

meant to be scraped off using your teeth as the "scraper". What you get in cans and frozen are the hearts, which are tender leaves with the heart. The leaves NEVER get tender. It is better to remove and discard some of the larger and very tough outer leaves.
A nice appetizer plate can be made by cooking an artichoke and removing the leaves and placing them in a "petal" arrangement on a tray. Put a dollop of mayo mixed with horseradish on the leaf and then a tiny salad shrimp.


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## auntdot (Jan 10, 2006)

I agree, I don't see how those tough leaves can ever be made tender.

But let me add have tried stuffed artichokes, and find them delightful.


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## Ishbel (Jan 10, 2006)

I love artichokes and the leaves always stay tough - I just scrape the fleshy portion with my teeth, then remove the choke and eat the heart - and end up with a satisfying mound of discarded leaves at the end.


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## kadesma (Jan 10, 2006)

Hi licia,
we are great fans of articholes too. The large ones do have a lot of half eaten leaves, and as yet I've never found a way to make them edible. They seem to just stay tough and stringy. We enjoy the bottom portion of each leaf and the heart, usually we dip in butter or mayo. For eating the whole artichoke we use baby artichokes, cutting off just the tip, cooking in chicken broth and a little lemon, I usually halve them.. When done, I toss them in melted butter, mixed with minced garlic, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. There is no thistle to remove the entire artichoke except for the thorny tip. Cooking time is not great maybe 15 or 20 min. My m-i-l use to make these for every birthday dinner for her boys..You might find some of the outer leaves a little stringy, I just spit em out..But you can also peel off the very first outer layer, the rest will be tender.

kadesma


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## lindatooo (Jan 10, 2006)

The first time I cooked dinner for my now Husband (nearly 24 years ago) Artichokes were on the menu.  I'm not a huge eater and rarely manage to get to the "choke".  Little did I know that he'd never eaten one before so stopped when he got as far in as I did   - it wasn't until we dined with his brother's family that they served them and he learned about the heart!   Gee he liked them much better then!

I love the things!  And I agree that the canned ones are much different animals than fresh.  I remember getting 10 for a dollar!  


2


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## urmaniac13 (Jan 11, 2006)

Well it sounds like we were not doing anything wrong after all... it was just that Cris was pretty convinced that once he had an artichoke prepared so that the whole thing was soft enough to be eaten before. So I was just curious if there was a way to acheive such a thing. 
CJ your baby artichoke recipes sounds delicious!! I have tried them last year to make a sauce/dip type thing with garlic and lemon (delicious on pasta), they are much more manageable than the large versions!!
I can wait for spring to come around... not only artichokes, but also asparguses, strawberries, with all the prices of the produces start to come down!!


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## Ishbel (Jan 11, 2006)

I know what you mean about awaiting crops in season, Urmaniac.

I can't wait until the end of this month when the Seville oranges appear in our shops.  Then I make enough proper orange marmalade to do us for a whole year - and a few jars for friends and family, too.


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## urmaniac13 (Jan 11, 2006)

whoa, proper orange marmalade!!  yum!!  That will sure to drive Paddington bear wild!!   Be sure to post us a recipe!!


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## Ishbel (Jan 11, 2006)

I posted it a while back - I'll find it and 'bump' it up!


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## texasgirl (Jan 13, 2006)

Okay, I did one tonight, dh spit his out immediately LOL. I liked it, but, there isn't enough meat. Are they better at certain season's? I really didn't like the fuzzy center. Maybe I didn't cook it right. It was tough.


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## GB (Jan 13, 2006)

The fuzzy center is the choke. It is called that because you will choke if you eat it. That part should be cut out with a knife or scooped out with a spoon.


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## texasgirl (Jan 13, 2006)

GB said:
			
		

> The fuzzy center is the choke. It is called that because you will choke if you eat it. That part should be cut out with a knife or scooped out with a spoon.


    That figures!! Well, I had to learn.

Then what is the center part that everyone is talking about that is the heart in the center after you finish the leaves?


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## GB (Jan 13, 2006)

That is the part just below the choke. If you look at the heart/choke from the side you will see a dark green line. Cut just below that and throw out the top. The bottom that remains is the delicious heart.


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## texasgirl (Jan 13, 2006)

Dang it!! I threw that away DOH!!!
I'll get another one tomorrow )
Thanks GB!!


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## GB (Jan 13, 2006)

It sure is a learning experience. Artichokes are one of the most complicated foods out there as far as I am concerned.


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Jan 13, 2006)

Urmaniac said 'evoo'.  Im getting flash-backs from Racheal Ray. ARGH! *going into corner in fetal position*


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## abjcooking (Mar 1, 2006)

I got some artichokes to cook for tonight.  This is my first time cooking them so I have a few questions.  I'm guessing the artichokes I got are the baby ones, but am not positive.  The artichoke not including the stem is about 4-5 inches.  So what I was going to do was trim the outter leaves and stem, cut a little of the top off and then put it into water with a little lemon and salt.  I would add some white wine, but I don't have any on hand.  Also, I'm not sure of the cooking time.  Then I was going to either serve it whole or cut it in half and serve with garlic butter to dip in.

Does anybody have any better suggestion or other ideas that would be better?


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## urmaniac13 (Mar 1, 2006)

abjcooking said:
			
		

> I got some artichokes to cook for tonight. This is my first time cooking them so I have a few questions. I'm guessing the artichokes I got are the baby ones, but am not positive. The artichoke not including the stem is about 4-5 inches. So what I was going to do was trim the outter leaves and stem, cut a little of the top off and then put it into water with a little lemon and salt. I would add some white wine, but I don't have any on hand. Also, I'm not sure of the cooking time. Then I was going to either serve it whole or cut it in half and serve with garlic butter to dip in.
> 
> Does anybody have any better suggestion or other ideas that would be better?


 
ABJ, cut off the outside diagonally all the way around, in order to get rid of as much tough tips of each petals as possible, then cut off the top horizontally.
To cook with add some evoo, garlic cloves and flat leaved parsley.  
Do you have a pressure cooker?  I always use that for cooking artichokes, takes about 40 minutes.


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## abjcooking (Mar 1, 2006)

I don't have a pressure cooker.  I guess they are going to have to simmer for awhile then?


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## urmaniac13 (Mar 1, 2006)

Yes, it takes a little patience... just check time to time near the root of the outside petals, if they become tender they should be ready... but don't expect the whole thing to get tender enough to eat... what you are going to do is scrape off the inside of each petals and eat them, and leave the outside.  Then for the last treat is the heart, the bottom end!!  (and also don't eat the fuzzy part -choke- right on top of the heart either... that part is not a pleasant thing either... ) a bit complicated until you get used to it... but you will love the wonderful flavour of artichokes!!


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## abjcooking (Mar 1, 2006)

Thanks urmaniac I guess I better get them on the stove now then.


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