How To Clean Artichokes?

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How to Clean Artichokes? Fresh artichokes are now in season! Artichokes are the ultimate vegetable, loaded with antioxidants and fiber! Our entire family loves artichokes, no matter how our mom prepares them. Whether they’re stuffed, steamed, roasted, or sautéed, we can’t get enough of them. For years, I had no idea how to clean artichokes until my mom showed me how. Now, we enjoy eating artichokes all the time!

Fresh Artichokes Come in Different Sizes…

Artichokes come in three sizes: large, medium, and small. Large ones are great for stuffing, like our recipe for Garlic Stuffed Artichokes (with a video). Some people prefer smaller ones and cook them by roasting, baking, or steaming, like our recipe for steamed artichoke hearts with olives, or our roasted artichokes.

But today, we’ll show you how easy it is to clean and prepare the artichokes. Large artichokes are cleaned the same way, and we highly recommend wearing latex gloves to protect your hands. The leaves on large artichokes can be harsh on your hands and even turn them green.

Our favorite artichokes are medium and baby ones. If you can find small or medium artichokes at your supermarket, or at Trader Joe’s, they are delicious, very tender, and relatively easy to clean!

But first, here is what you will need to clean them.

Ingredients & Tools Needed for Cleaning Artichokes…

fresh baby or medium-sized artichokes, one to two pounds
a pairing knife
1 fresh lemon
medium-size mixing bowl
tap water
salt

Directions: How to Clean and Prep Artichokes?

Our full printable recipe card is below, but you can follow our step-by-step photos:

1. First, grab a large bowl fill it with cold water, and squeeze some lemon juice, about 1/2 lemon, into the water. You can toss some slices of lemon into the water as well.

2. Trim each artichoke by snapping off and discarding the tough outer green leaves until you are left with a small bullet-shaped artichoke with pale yellow leaves that are green at the tips.

2 artichokes with its dark green leaves taken off.

3. Cut off the green tips crosswise.

A knife cutting crosswise through an artichoke that has its dark leaves torn off.

4. Use a pairing knife, peel the stems, and cut off the tip of the stem.

Stems of the artichokes have been peeled off and ends cut off.

5. Then cut the artichokes in half lengthwise, scoop out, and discard any purple choke inside the center of it.

Removing the purple choke from the inside wih a paring knife,

6. Drop the chokes into a bowl with lemon water. Add some salt to the water. The lemon juice and salt will keep the chokes from turning brown while you are working to clean each one.

A silver bowl of water filled with already cleaned artichoke hearts.

7. When all the chokes are completed. Rinse chokes under cold water 3 times, draining the water each time. Now the artichokes are ready for you to cook, bake, or roast!

Enjoy!

Great Tip for Storing and Freezing…

When artichokes are in season you can buy them at a reasonable price. Bring them home, clean them as demonstrated, and spin excess water from the chokes or pat them dry with paper towels.

Then place cleaned chokes into containers or zip-lock bags and freeze them for future cooking days or weeks ahead.

WATCH VIDEO! How To Clean and Prep Large Artichokes For Stuffing?

Delicious Recipes for Artichoke Hearts…

A Few More “How-To” for Veggies…

How to Clean and Prep Artichokes?

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

How to Clean and Prep Artichokes? It only takes a few minutes to clean fresh artichokes, and here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to clean these babies and enjoy them in so many recipes!

Ingredients

1 or 2 pounds of Fresh Baby Artichokes
fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
salt

Instructions

Grab a large bowl and fill it with cold water and squeeze some lemon juice, about 1/2 lemon, into the water.
Trim each artichoke by snapping off and discarding the tough outer green leaves until you are left with a small bullet-shaped artichoke with pale yellow leaves that are green at the tips.
Cut off the green tips crosswise. Peel the stems, and cut off the tip of the stem.
Cut the artichokes in half lengthwise and scoop out and discard any purple choke.
Drop the chokes into a bowl with lemon water. Add some salt to the water. The lemon juice and salt will keep the chokes from turning brown while you are working to clean each one.
When all the chokes are completed. Rinse chokes under cold water 3 times, draining the water each time. Now the artichokes are ready for you to cook!

Notes

See our Video or Photos in the post.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 servings Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 86.2Carbohydrates: 14gFiber: 6.5gSugar: 2.5gProtein: 4g

How to Clean Artichokes! by 2sistersrecipes.com

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Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

xo anna and liz

Welcome! From Anna and Liz

We believe the kitchen is the center and the heart of the home. It is where we cook, eat, and unwind with family and friends, creating memorable traditions! Read more…

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