How to Cook Artichokes

Posted by maryorton on November 21st, 2019

Artichoke is mainly the bud of a thistle which is a flower. The leaves mainly cover a fuzzy centre which is known as the choke. It sits on a top of a meaty core called the heart. The heart is the edible part. The choke is highly fibrous for regular eating but edible in baby artichokes. The innermost leaves are very tough and you have to scrape them with your teeth to eat the tender parts.

How to choose the right artichokes?

Choose the artichokes that feel heavy once you pick it.

If you will squeeze it, the leaves should squeak. This is the other way of letting you know that the artichoke is fresh.

The leaves should be closed with a little separation. Artichoke is mainly a flower bud, as it ages, the leaves open up. So an artichoke with wide-open leaves may turn older.

"Frost-kissed" is fine. If an artichoke looks like it as been burned by frost, you do not have to worry. There are less than beautiful artichokes that taste lovely.

How can you cook artichokes?

It depends on you. How to Cook Artichokes you can simply boil, grill, braise, stuff it or even bake artichokes. The best way is to normally cook them. Simply steam them. Boiling makes the artichokes tends to water-log them. You get to cook the same with the right amount of moisture. 

A simple way that you can opt for is to add some bay leaf, chop some garlic and squeeze a lemon to the boiling water to infuse the artichokes with beautiful flavour. Follow the process in a pressure cooker to cook the artichokes faster.

While you are cooking the artichokes, you will see if they have little thorns at the ends of their leaves. Take kitchen scissors and cut off the tips. As the thorns soften with cooking, there is no threat of eating the artichoke.  But snipping them off will make the artichokes easier for handling.

 Slip off the top of the artichoke. Slice nearly 3/4th inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke. Use a serrated bread knife to complete the process. Pull out the smaller leaves towards the base and then on the stem.

Cut off the excess stem, leaving it up to an inch on the artichoke. The stems can become a little bitter than the rest of the artichoke. The inner cores of the stem taste just like the heart. Again, alternatively, you can leave the whole long stem on the artichoke. Just cut off the end of the stem and peel the tough outside layer of the stem with the help of a vegetable peeler.

Rinse it properly in running cold water, open the leaves to let the water flow easily. In a cooker put all the ingredients mentioned above and steam. Make sure to place the artichokes on the top of the steaming basket.

Make sure that artichokes can be cooked in a pressure cooker. Cook at high-pressure for 5 to 15 minutes. The cooking time depends on how large the artichokes are.