It is not only edible but also dense and tasty just like the artichoke heart. Last night I was preparing some monster artichokes for my son Sam’s birthday chez us,
gigantic artichokes
when I decided to get out the camera and film the process of trimming the stems. I actually learned this many years ago from Jacques Pepin, the great culinary technician and teacher, who I was lucky enough to work with at my last restaurant job.
so, you simply cut off the stem from the artichoke like I did here:
artichoke stems, cut side up
the inner lighter colored core of the stem is the edible part – you just have to cut off the outer fibrous part like I am doing here:
trimming the stem
until you are left with the core:
down to the core
and then you just add these little pieces to the pot (I steam my artichokes, they come out much less watery if you steam them instead of boiling them) for the last 15 minutes of cooking.
the cores of the stems and the trimmings
Everyone is sooo happy to have more of the good stuff!!
Thank you for this tip!!
Thanks Sarah! Now if you can give a tip on how to to organize my ten years’ worth of Gourmet Magazines. I can’t part with them. lol
Val,
Organize them by month. I did that when I was a chef and then as each new month started I would reach for my gourmets to get an idea about what was in season and then check out the recipes using those ingredients.