Castroville, CA is known for artichokes. The most beautifulI artichokes I've ever seen actually came from Fallbrook, CA. i buy them frequently to steam, grill or stuff. I do enjoy steaming them and eating with a mayo/lemon mix. DH prefers melted butter.

A wonderful way to eat them (I've never cooked them this way, just had them in restaurants), is fried:

I watched the video, bookwoman, I don't think I'd like the result. Deep fried and greasy. I can't imagine what a mess it is when you get down to the hairy part and need to remove it all to get to the heart. I've never found an easier way to do it than with a spoon while holding the choke with my hand. A greasy thing? No thanks.

When they're well-prepared that way they aren't really greasy, just crispy. You eat them with a knife and fork, and there is no choke: "In Rome, they use a variety of artichokes called cimaroli that is free from thorns and the hairy central choke, which means you can trim them, cook them, and eat them without worrying about the choke."

The Jewish style artichokes are amazing! I could not imagine making them at home. I can't fry anything properly, but boy are they good.

PS Elmer if you ever come across these on the menu of a great Italian restaurant, try them. You will be probably be delighted. Nothing greasy at all about them.

Are there different varieties of the kind with a choke? I am really delighted with the ones I got, they are almost twice the size of the ones I usually see.

I cook mine the same way that Elmer does. Preferred dip is mayo thinned with lemon juice, sometimes with a bit of dried dill weed added.

As for variety, I find that the super-round ones are tough. Not sure if they are just not fully ripe or perhaps a different variety. The best are the ones that come to a slightly pointy end. If the outer leaves are slightly brown tinged, those are the sweetest.

https://www.pezzinifarms.com/

https://www.oceanmist.com/products/artichokes

Jupidupi, my first ex-MIL was a wonderful cook of Italian descent and made the most yummy artichokes with an Italian seasoned bread stuffing. I'm not eating bread right now (what kind of life is that?) but I still derive a lot of pleasure from just the memories of outstanding meals and dishes and hers was amazing.

"Are there different varieties of the kind with a choke?"

Lucille, there are several varieties. As far as I know, they all have chokes. The chokes of some baby artichokes are edible because the chokes aren't fully developed...or there are none.

Bit of trivia - Marilyn Monroe was the first artichoke queen in Castroville, CA in 1948.

"In Rome, they use a variety of artichokes called cimaroli that is free from thorns and the hairy central choke,"

That resolves one issue I would have. Without that particular type, I wouldn't imagine the recipe would be possible. Although, I guess someone with persistence and patience could cut a raw artichoke down the middle lengthwise and carfully cut out the hairy part before cooking. I wouldn't want to do that myself.

I also noticed in the videos that the long stems are left. I find stems of the artichokes I buy tend to be very stringy and rather inedible, which is why I cut them off. This type must be different.

When I think of restaurants in Rome, the image that comes to me is of outdoor tables (because of the heat) and the delicious antipasti spreads that in the nicer places have everything from salads with calamari and shrimp to olives to mussels to veggies to charcuterie to grilled eggplant and octopus to everything under the sun. Talk about teasing your taste buds. Maybe there's fried artichokes to be found sometimes too, I probably would have stayed away from something that looked fried.

Elmer, removing the choke isn't that difficult, just tedious. I know a number of Monterey-area restaurants have stuffed artichokes on their menus, all that I've had with the choke removed.

More 'choke trivia https://www.californiabountiful.com/features/article.aspx?arID=1027

Yeah, I know what the cross section looks like, I've done that to speed cooking. Or when grilling (not my preferred approach).

Tedious is a good word, I can imagine the task. We love delicious food and do our best to always enjoy a wide range of things but in our kitchen, at our stage of life, we don't do tedious, challenging, messy or time consuming.

Fortunately many delicious things that many avoid having at home can be simply and easily prepared. We drive to Santa Cruz (Stagnaro's wholesale location, not the place on the wharf) to get dry-pack scallops as used in better restaurants, they're the only kind that can be quickly seared and browned. Delish! I'm sure there's more availability in New England and on the East Coast. Whole Foods has them occasionally but not consistently, just easier to go directly to a source I have confidence in. Wet pack ones that ooze liquid when heated are worthless.

Steam them in the microwave. I prepare them by cutting off the woody part of the stem and about one quarter to a third off the top. Snip off any sharp thorns off the leaves and place them in an appropriate glass casserole or bowl stem side up in about an inch of water. Cover and nuke on high for about 8-10 minutes depending on their size. I never do more than 2 at a time. DH likes them dipped in mayo, I prefer lemon butter sauce or a salad dressing depending on whether I am eating them hot or cold.

There are often many different ways to cook a particular item but using a microwave oven is one way we never use. It seems to destroy the texture of foods, especially veggies, even when water is present and there's an element of steaming done. The RF waves are still overheating the rest of the artichoke and I think that's what causes the problem.

In a pot with a steamer set up, the steam that does the cooking is at a max of 212 degrees and while the pot interior can get a bit hotter, at a simmer level to keep a light boiling going, it doesn't get much hotter.

Elmer, thank you for the explanation of what makes mw food taste off. I shan't be debating others about it, but at least I now know it's not just me being a PITA ;-)

I usually steam them. i do like to put some aromatics in the water. i read about roasting them and tried that but felt that roasting reduces the edible quantity too much.

Even microwaving water isn't a good idea. Water can become "superheated" because the surface tension at the top holds in bubbles of gas that would otherwise form. When the vessel is moved, the water can "explode" which can be dangerous and easily cause injury. Before we decided many years ago to put the kibosh on using our microwave for other than gentle defrosting or warming from fridge temps, we experienced this. I'm sure others have too.

One way to avoid the exploding water from superheating danger is to put a toothpick or other wooden item in the water, that breaks the surface tension and prevents the problem. An even better way to be safe is to not boil water in a microwave.

Zalco, I don't know you and how much of a PITA you may or may not be but I wouldn't be too quick to move on. ;-) But yes, microwave cooked veggies and other foods often have a destroyed texture and an off taste because of being overcooked, even if in small spots and not overall.

Can you steam them in a Dutch oven?

My favorite way is grilled with olive oil and sea salt. Dipped in hollandaise.

Trust me, I grew up nextdoor to the artichoke capitol of the world. Right sushipup? Good ol' Hollister, CA

You mean on a stove top? I'd think that would be fine.

My stovetop approach is to bring the water to a slow boil (having first measured the water level with the empty steamer rack) before putting in the artichokes. I keep it at a slow boil, and leave the lid slightly ajar so that steam can escape and the pot doesn't get too hot. I keep the exhaust fan going to avoid adding humidity and odors to the inside air but we do that whenever the gas stovetop is on. Maybe keeping the lid ajar isn't necessary but I suspect that's why I need to check the water level and add some a few times. I do so with boiling water from a kettle so as to not interrupt the cooking process.

https://youtu.be/mJoIH3Omho4?t=210

I marked it to start when she starts. She finishes the recipe starting at 8:50.

I admit I do not often fiddle with fresh artichokes. Too much trouble. I like them in salads and in my spinach artichoke dip, but that's almost always the hearts, and always from a jar.

"Trust me, I grew up nextdoor to the artichoke capitol of the world. Right sushipup? Good ol' Hollister, CA"

No reason not to trust you but in this case I think you may be thinking of nearly-coastal Castroville and not more inland Hollister. Little Castroville calls itself the "Artichoke Center of the World", more than a little hyperbole since I think many other countries produce considerably more artichokes than the US does.

Oh my, amylou, what a hoot that video is. Baking artichokes for an hour?

Did you get to the part where they were sautéing onions in lard? And adding potato to it, suggesting that you crush the potato pieces a bit first because they "take up the fat better"?

Where are the proponents of British cooking?

I steam and dip in a tangy dressing. Butter is bland. We used to use Catalina when growing up, but they reformulated that about 30 years ago to be a sicky sweet dressing. You want a dressing with some sort of cling to it. Sometimes I make my own, but other times I use Annie's Creamy Balsamic.

Some people will cut off the top third or quarter of the artichoke, but we have never done that - even when we were kids we never hurt ourselves on the pricking top points. But, up to you. The outer row of leaves are rather tough - dispose of prior to cooking, or, hey, cook with them on.

I can make an entire dinner out of two artichokes!

I know that episode well Elmer. I love the Two Fat Ladies. They are entertaining to watch. Or were. Although many of their recipes I would never do, some of them are interesting.

Bubble and Squeak is delicious btw.

"Can you steam them in a Dutch oven?"

Absolutely.

I steam them, then use a dip of mixed mayo and soy sauce. Annie's creamy balsamic sounds good. In San Luis Obispo, I've had them grilled at the Farmer's Market. That looks too labor intensive/messy to do at home.

I have never bothered stuffing an artichoke. Too much bother, and you end up removing some edible parts. Obviously, as you eat them down, you come to the "feathers" above the heart (ie, the choke). When eating, I scrape them off, as you really don't want to try eating those! (They are edible if you find baby artichokes that are an inch or two in length...)

Artichokes are among my 5 or 10 favorite veggies on the planet. They make me so HAPPY!

I like the deep fried artichokes in Castroville, but I have not made them myself.

Mmm. Deep fried artichokes. Have not been able to recreate them...

https://www.oceanmist.com/recipes/deep-fried-artichoke-hearts

Not for people on a diet but love them steamed and dipped in either hollandaise sauce or bearnaise sauce.

My Italian MIl used to clean and pare the artichokes down to only the edible parts, cut them into pieces and dunk them in eggs and cheese and fry them. It took forever and was tedious to pare down that artichoke into only the edible parts.

I suspect that the ancestors that she learned it from probably had a different variety of artichoke to use and she was trying to do the same with the kind that we get here. It was delicious but I would never go to that much work.

She also taught me to stuff an artichoke and I used to do that and it is wonderful. We lived in New Orleans for years and they stuff an artichoke to a degree that you would not think possible.

But the problem is that I have not found an artichoke in years, really years, that is worthy of buying. What gives? I live in the mid Atlantic and I look for them all the time.

The local Wegmanns has them at times and I will tell you that they are ready for nothing more than the compost pile what they try to sell. They are dried up, brown and have no heft to them at all. They are beyond being edible and they are expensive. I find that a lot at Wegmanns. They often offer dried up or rotten produce. Granted that you are probably just lucky that you have produce at all, but if it is not fit for consumption, it is of no use.

Someone said that Costco sells them. I have never seen them in our Costco location.

I find it phenominal that I have not found any edible ones in years.

My daughter loves them and I am always on the look out for them.

Brown leaves per se are not always a problem with artichokes. Called "frosted", those can be the sweetest 'chokes. The spots look a bit like sunburn, slightly peeling. But they should NOT be wrinkled or dried. The very tight round ones are not good, either.

I'm now in the Philly area, tho I moved here from Monterey County. I sometimes see chokes at Trader Joe's, somewhat smallish, but good. I got beautiful ones at Fresh Market. Randomly at Giant. Wegman's is not close enough for my everyday shopping. Our Costco does not carry them, it's one of those regional items, not countrywide distribution.

I love fresh artichokes dipped in a lemon, garlic melted butter, If I buy them already marinated I just eat them. I sprinkle the artichokes with a few drops of water, wrap them in parchment and steam for a few minutes in the microwave. It isn't often I find some really fresh globe artichokes in the store usually they are a bit dried out but when I find them really fresh I buy quite a few.

I cut off about an inch off the top and cut off the bottom stem plus the thorns off the leaves. I put them in a pan of water with fresh cut up lemon and basil and cook till done. We like mayo mixed with sour cream dip or I like ranch dressing as a dip.

I have grown them for over 40 years on the Central Coast California.

ETA: I love fried artichokes in Castroville too.

Amazing, caflowerluver!

I've sometimes wondered who first looked at an artichoke and decided to eat it. I'm so glad they did since I might have been hesitant.

Produce Pete calls that bronzing on the leaves "winter kiss," which I think makes them sound even more delicious.

sushi, you are right that a bit of brown on the tips is not a sign that it is bad. But, when you pick it up and it is just as light as paper, you know that it has dried up beyound just the tips of the leaves. When you can almost crush it in your hand, that is dried up. When you can see the leaves seperating from one another and the brown inside, that is dried up. But., I agree with you that a bit of brown on the tips is acceptable.

I find Wegmanns to be the worst offender to put out produce that not fit for consuming. Not, just second best, but beyound redemption.

I am serious when I say that I look for good ones on a constant basis and have not found any in a very long time.

I will stuff them with soft bread crumbs that have been seasoned, douse them with some olive oil and steam them in a pot. We dunk them in garlic butter and first eat all of that wonderful stuffing and the bit of soft at the end until we get to the choke, then clean and eat the heart. . It has been so long since I had an artichoke. I would have one if I could. I thought that maybe there was something going on with the marketing or the growing and had been intending to do a google search to see if that were the case. That is one reason the this post caught my attention.

Gonna look a bit closer at Costco. I dont shop there very often anymore since all of this. But, it was way before the virus that I have not been able to find a good one. I used to buy them a few times a year and make a pot of them. It has probably been more than a decade since I have found any that were acceptable.

If you are not on the West Coast, don't expect to find them at Costco.

Do you have a Fresh Market near you?

https://www.thefreshmarket.com/your-market/store-locator?ds_rl=1249637&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvaeJBhCvARIsABgTDM7aIc9WDtjiWdZApuuVfIlPY8u5B8d9Itnwu8ay24_kQb1V5mwtphcaApBvEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I am on the East Coast and i do not remember ever seeing them at Costco, so sushipup is right about that. I dont see them much at the grocery stores either. If I do they are usually beyound desirability.

I did find some at a local co op but they did not look good either. Had they been a bit less expensive than they were, I might have taken a chance of a couple of them, but they did not look to be worth the price. They were marginally better than the dried and shrivled ones at Wegmanns.

A friend of ours brought some stuffed ones to a holiday gathering a couple of years ago and had the same problem finding any that were any more than barely acceptable. He did find a couple that proved to be just as unacceptabe as they appeared to be. Again, on the east coast.

Around the holidays i wil buy that big jar of marinated hearts at Costco. It is about the only way to get them here.

Watched Stanly Tucci on Netlfix last evening and he was in Rome and did a segment about the artichokes. According to him, the Jewish/Italian people of Rome made popular that deep fried artichoke. He showed them being fried and he also showed how the Italians clean the artichokes, such as my MIL did. Only we dont get those nice artichokes with the long stem stil there. You folks out in California may get them in that way. Or, maybe not with all the drought and fires going on out there.

I have gotten the long stemmed artichoke at Fresh Market in Philadelphia. Cost about 2 bucks more than same size ones without the long stem.

"Only we dont get those nice artichokes with the long stem stil there. You folks out in California may get them in that way. Or, maybe not with all the drought and fires going on out there."

I live not far from the Central Coast artichoke growing region and haven't ever seen long stemmed artichokes. I wonder if that's only done with young ones or if other than the standard commercial choke variety is used. With regular medium to large ones, the stems are usually (though not always) tough and stringy and while they seem to have the same taste as the part you pull off the leaves with your teeth, they are not easy or desirable to eat.

The Central Coast growing region in and around the Monterey Bay area is a coastal plain and is hundreds of miles away from the current fires.

This area is not connected to federal or state water supply systems so that all water comes from local rainfall and runoff from the surrounding hills. The trend of groundwater levels throughout the state has been downward for many years. In some areas, notably parts of SoCal, processed water from waste treatment plants, of drinking water quality after treatment, is nonetheless not put directly into system pipes but rather is returned to groundwater stocks. A good idea and one that probably will become more widespread. In other areas, such processed water is kept separate from potable water systems but is used for irrigation for golf courses and other public landscaped areas- San Jose has such a system. You see signs at such places that say something like "Irrigated with reclaimed water", lest anyone get upset about what otherwise could appear to be water wastage to maintain lawns and shrubs.

A wonderful gift to an artichoke lover would be 12 long stemmed artichokes in a vase:)

Yesterday i bought 2 enormous artichokes at Fresh Market in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, for $4.99 each. Will steam them tonight and then cut in half, hollow out the choke, and fill the cup with lemon mayo.

So if you are looking on the East Coast, I recommend this lovely store. BTW, haven't seen artichokes at Whole Foods around here. Fresh Market is, to my eye, a smaller and much nicer store.

Snip off the thorns, cut off stem, cut off a little of the top with a knife, slow boil them , covered (ajar), add lemon, salt & sliced garlic clove to water. Serve with a lemon/mayo dip. Hollondaise (sp?) sauce good but i don’t take the time to do that often, though I have an ez blender recipe for it. Too fatening☹️

Boiling some vegetables can cause flavor to leach into the water and be lost. If you're submerging the artichokes in boiling water, I think you may like the result better by steaming them instead.

We sometimes steam them , but like the flavor of a slow simmer with lemon, garlic & salt better. We don’t submerge them completely. More flavorful, We definitely don’t leach the flavor from them, however, I agree I rarely , if ever, boil vegetables, I usually roast them with a little olive & herbs depending upon the vegetable.

Living in California, we eat artichokes year around, sometimes more than once a week. Wondering if they’re than available year around elsewhere?