I smiled at the article, because my first (and only) experience with the mysterious artichoke was similar. I didn’t eat the whole damn thing. I took a leaf off, popped it in my mouth and started to chew. After about 5-10 minutes, I had a mouthful of woody pulp, and no idea why anyone would eat this thing. I spit it out in my napkin, then watched others at the table to see what they would do with it. Only two others took a chance, one scraping the leaf with their teeth, and one chewing it like i did.
Needless to say, the next leaf I tried, I used the scraping method. But my experience had soured on the artichoke, so I quit after the second leaf.
That was 20 + years ago. After reading this thread, I’m interesed in trying one again properly. I don’t know anyone that eats them, however.
I’m a very adventurous eater, but all I’ve had, to the best of my recollection, is the hearts. Artichokes are only occasionally available at the grocery store I shop at, and they’ve always looked like too much a pain in the ass to deal with, so I’ve never bought the whole choke.
