# Who has never eaten an artichoke? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515 "2005-12-20T21:03:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/41 "2005-12-22T01:44:14Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > I don’t know what that is but it’s certainly not a mayonaisse. Did you mean egg yolk? Er, yes. Thanks. The cat gets the white. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Cockatiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cockatiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cockatiel)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/42 "2005-12-22T02:06:18Z")
I’m a vegetarian, and I love vegetables. But I have never eaten nor seen an artichoke. ---
**Author:** ![eveanyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@eveanyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eveanyn)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/43 "2005-12-22T02:11:39Z")
Well, I’ve always liked artichoke hearts marinated in oil and herbs, and artichoke hearts on pizza. This thread got me thinking about trying a whole artichoke. I went to Zehrs and bought a huge globe artichoke. After being mercilessly shredded by sharp spikes while choosing one and putting it in my basket I decided to snip off the tips of the leaves before cooking it. Then, I steamed it until tender and ate it as someone had described earlier. I ate it leaf by leaf dipped in garlic butter. Loves me some garlic butter! I was surprised to find that the flavour was remarkably similar to the smell of a freshly cut lawn. I only made it about three-quarters of the way to the heart before I was too full to finish (I also made steamed mussels and clams to dip in the garlic butter), so I wrapped up the rest of the artichoke in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for tommorrow. I’m considering adding it to a cold pasta salad or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/44 "2005-12-22T02:15:32Z")
I tried it as a kid, as my mother loved and still loves it. I hated it and have seen no reason to reassess. ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/45 "2005-12-22T02:31:19Z")
Sheesh, now I have a desire to try Jerusalem Artichokes. I don’t know where to get them, though, or how to prepare them. The regular local grocery stores don’t have them (unless they are also called by some other name). Would an Asian or Hispanic market have them? How do I prepare them? Inquiring palates want to know. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/46 "2005-12-22T02:41:13Z")
I puked up some artichokes this morning. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/47 "2005-12-22T02:44:01Z")
… not that I don’t like them, it’s just that artichokes and large amounts of Bass Ale seem to be powerful digestive catalysts. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/48 "2005-12-22T07:30:36Z")
Artichokes are a regular veggie in the Seven household. We all love them. When we lived on the Oregon coast Mrs Seven grew artichokes in the garden. We had 4 large plants and managed to get about 4-5 good chokes per plant. We let the end of season chokes bloom. They look like giant thistles and have a bright purple center (this is the bit you have to scrape off the top of the heart). They dont’ really have a flowery scent. In fact, I don’t recall the flower smelling like much of anything. I don’t really like many foods you have to fuss with to eat but artichokes are worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/49 "2005-12-22T15:57:06Z")
I’ve never had it as far as I know. I suppose it could have been in some dish or another I’ve had. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/50 "2005-12-22T16:13:22Z")
Does Mrs. Seven have any adivce about growing these expensive-and-better-fresh little buggers? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/51 "2005-12-22T16:51:39Z")
This is one of my favorite dishes: Italian Sausage, cut into disks Penne pasta Sauteed mushrooms Artichoke hearts Fresh tomatoes A touch of fresh spinach, cut up pretty small Mix it all together. It’s to die for. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/52 "2005-12-22T16:52:44Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > This is one of my favorite dishes: > > Italian Sausage, cut into disks > Penne pasta > Sauteed mushrooms > Artichoke hearts > Fresh tomatoes > A touch of fresh spinach, cut up pretty small > > Mix it all together. It’s to die for. I forgot to add olive oil and fresh garlic. Can’t forget that! ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/53 "2005-12-28T00:28:28Z")
Nope, never had one. Could they be eaten raw or do they usually go on or with something? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/54 "2005-12-28T00:38:34Z")
I had some at lunch on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/55 "2005-12-28T00:42:15Z")
I love artichokes, one of my absolutely favorite foods. The dip I use: Mayo, lemon juice, a couple of minced garlic cloves, and curry powder, whisked together. Yum! Idle Thoughts: You have to steam them, too tough when raw. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/56 "2005-12-28T12:54:12Z")
> [@Agent Foxtrot](#): > > I don’t even know how to eat an artichoke. > Nor do I trust any food whose name contains the word “choke.” I got a rest & recreation leave to Cannes during WWII. The Army had leased the[Hotel Martinez](http://www.holidaycityeurope.com/martinez-cannes/index.htm) for our use. One of the grand hotels on the beac, not quite up to the Carlton but close. Anyway, they had artichoke on the menu. Being just a kid from a small town in Iowa, I had neither heard of nor eaten such a thing. Other guys said they were great so one night I tried an order of artichoke leaves (fronds? Whatever) in oil. I speared the first leaf and started chewing on it whole. Never before or since have I tried to eat anything so downright awful. Tough, stringy and without much flavor. How was I to know that you are scrape the meat out of the inside of the leaf? Huh? Now I ask you. A person has to be awfully hungry to discover that artichokes are edible. It was another 30 or 40 years before I tried one again and by then I had learned a little something. They are delicious and the heart is even more so. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/57 "2005-12-28T21:33:04Z")
What’s odd, is that I don’t particularly care for mayonnaise – I never put it on sandwiches, for example. But I gladly dip artichokes into it. So yeah, I eat 'em every chance I get. And I drive through the [Artichoke Capital of the World](http://www.pelicannetwork.net/castroville.htm) whenever I visit Mom. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/58 "2005-12-28T22:22:17Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > What’s odd, is that I don’t particularly care for mayonnaise – I never put it on sandwiches, for example. I hear it’s better made from egg yolks than whites. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515/59 "2005-12-29T16:17:39Z")
This thread inspired me to go buy artichokes. I’ve had them before and love them, but I don’t often think of buying them for some reason. I ate one last night with drawn butter, and it was an experience of sheer joy. Thanks, **Johnny**! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-never-eaten-an-artichoke/336515.md?page=2)