Discertation on Artichokes
Artichokes are one of those vegetables where you have to wonder who thought up eating it. It’s a member of the thistle family, first of all, and it’s the bud of a flower. To begin with, it already looks quite impenetrable, with layers upon layers of tough, fibrous petals. The petals themselves have a very small point at the end of each. But as we all know, some brave soul ventured forth and unraveled the mystery that is the artichoke, and gave us modern folks such wonders as marinated artichoke hearts, artichoke and spinach dip, and French fried artichoke hearts (yes, I swear, these are really good). What amazes me is that eating an artichoke is quite reminiscent of our basic need for survival - where we will find every bit of sustenance in a provided food source.
For those who are unaware, eating an artichoke whole consists of peeling off the petals one by one, possibly dipping it into a sort of sauce, and then scraping off the little bit of meat at the bottom with your two front teeth (top or bottom, I don’t think it really matters). You continue this until you reach inside, which consists of the fuzzy choke, which is inedible. But if you remove all the fuzzy bits, you are left with the artichoke heart - the prize, if you will. This delectable middle piece really is worth all the work to reach it. The stem, only slightly less flavorful than the heart, is also a gem.
Artichoke preparation can seem to be a daunting task, though really, it only takes two cuts with a knife. Alton Brown covers it quite well in his episode, I highly encourage people to watch it.
And if you can’t tell, I had an artichoke with dinner. =)
For those who are unaware, eating an artichoke whole consists of peeling off the petals one by one, possibly dipping it into a sort of sauce, and then scraping off the little bit of meat at the bottom with your two front teeth (top or bottom, I don’t think it really matters). You continue this until you reach inside, which consists of the fuzzy choke, which is inedible. But if you remove all the fuzzy bits, you are left with the artichoke heart - the prize, if you will. This delectable middle piece really is worth all the work to reach it. The stem, only slightly less flavorful than the heart, is also a gem.
Artichoke preparation can seem to be a daunting task, though really, it only takes two cuts with a knife. Alton Brown covers it quite well in his episode, I highly encourage people to watch it.
And if you can’t tell, I had an artichoke with dinner. =)