Seasonal Spotlight: Enjoy Fresh Artichokes this Summer

You are at a fancy dinner. Before coming, you brushed up on your table etiquette. You mastered the proper use of cutlery, napkins, finger bowls, etc. You are confident tonight you will make no embarrassing faux pas.

Then they serve a food that brings all your fears zooming back. Sitting there in the middle of the plate is something that looks like an unspent flower bud. How to eat this? You are doomed!

The artichoke is a culinary delicacy with snob appeal. It conjures up images of high society and gourmet meals and has a history befitting its status. Cultivated in the Mediterranean since 500 B.C., the Roman writer, Pliny the Younger, asserted that the artichoke garnered more esteem and was priced higher than any other vegetable.

In medieval times, the artichoke was cultivated in Florence and is said to have been introduced to France by Catherine de Medici, wife of Henry II. Thanks mostly to Italian immigrants, it was brought to the United States and ultimately to the coastal regions of California where it became a thriving industry. Today almost all artichokes in the U.S. are grown in California. But what gives the artichoke its snob appeal may have more to do with the perceived difficulty of eating it rather than its history or status as a gourmet food. An artichoke must be eaten bit by bit, working from the outer layers of the vegetable to the inner “heart.” It’s not difficult, once you understand what you’re attempting to eat.

Each cone-shaped artichoke is actually an immature, unopened flower bud from a large plant related to thistles. Overlapping outer leaves cover a light-colored core of immature leaves, which in turn, hide an inedible thistle or “choke.” At the base of the choke is a round, tender, but firm-fleshed heart. Each leaf is eaten individually, starting with the outer layer of leaves. The leaf is placed concave-side down, halfway in your mouth between your front teeth. You bite down gently and scrape the flesh of the leaf into your mouth across your lower teeth. Each leaf is discarded after use.

You will enjoy more of the unusual, slightly nutty flavor of the artichoke as you progress to the smaller, but fleshier, inner leaves of the bud. When you reach the tiny leaves in the middle, don’t eat them. Instead, pull them out and expose the choke, the pale green part of the bud.

Use a spoon to scrape out the choke and expose the round, tender heart, the real prize the artichoke lover seeks.
Smaller artichokes may consist mostly of hearts, with negligible or nonexistent chokes. Tiny, whole artichokes with almost no chokes are commercially packaged as artichoke hearts.

Eating an artichoke may still sound like work but it is easy once you do it a few times. The effort is well worth it because artichokes also offer healthy amounts of Vitamin C and fiber. A 3½ ounce serving supplies about 12 milligrams of vitamin C, roughly 20 percent of your recommended daily requirement. Moreover, they have no fat and no cholesterol.

Artichokes can be purchased fresh, canned, jarred, or frozen. When shopping for fresh artichokes, look for ones that are compact and heavy for their size. Leaves should be fleshy, thick, firm, and tightly closed. Their color should be bright green or bronze-tipped; avoid shriveled, brown stems and leaves, although a little brown discoloration is permissible. As befits their delicacy, fresh artichokes are very perishable. Store them with a few drops of water in a closed plastic bag in the refrigerator for no more than four or five days.

Artichokes can be boiled, baked, or steamed, and served hot or cold. They can be served as appetizers, salads, as main courses, or simply as a bowl of fresh-cooked artichoke leaves ready for dipping. Although they are traditionally served with lots of butter for dipping, they can also be accompanied by a low-fat sauce for dipping or in combination with other foods, as in this recipe.