I didn't even know how to prepare or eat an artichoke until a couple years ago. Then again, I grew up in a small town without a lot of exposure to foods outside the meat/potatoes/green beans categories.
I lived in Castroville when I was a little girl. Hated artichokes then. Love them now and want to go tell six to eight year old me how good I had it!!!!
It seems like they have turned over a lot of the fields in the last year to not be artichokes. It makes me sad!
OK I keep coming back to this innocuous thread like a psycho. My dad used to say, "Never choke an artichoke, it'll choke you back!". But my dad was really cheesy. I lived in mortal fear of the spikes around the heart killing me. True?
You can buy them all year round here in Belgium, but they're bigger in spring I think. They come from Bretagne in France and Italy (the smaller ones with purple).
You just gave me an idea for dinner tonight: boiled with a vinaigrette with a hard-boiled egg smashed into it. Hmmmmmm
OK I keep coming back to this innocuous thread like a psycho. My dad used to say, "Never choke an artichoke, it'll choke you back!". But my dad was really cheesy. I lived in mortal fear of the spikes around the heart killing me. True?
Lol, I remember being deathly afraid to eat the little things you take out of the heart because my mom said you could choke on them.
Also, eating them w mayo is far superior to butter.
I wouldn't say they are uncommon in the midwest, at least anywhere I've lived. But they are a little more of a specialty ingredient - like you might find them in a pasta or pizza most places, but there are probably only 1-2 items on the menu that would include them.
You can buy them in any store I've been to, though. I don't eat them often because they are a little expensive for what you get. But I love them!
I have no idea how to cook a fresh artichoke, either, but I know you can usually get them here.
I grew up eating them steamed with lemon butter. S. FL.
I've managed to buy them most places I've lived. Sometimes I have to resort to jar/ can (living in Japan and Korea) in which case I use them in things like pasta or on pizza.
I've seen them on menus in the DC area. Sometimes whole, sometimes fried hearts.
East Coast person (lived there until 30s) - used to have artichoke dip regularly and even had it whole on occasion (love pulling and dipping into butter).
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I love butter but have you tried it with a spicy mayo?? Omg, so good.
I think I'm gonna make some when I get home tonight.
Another Italian checking in. Had stuffed artichokes a lot as a kid but it was always a huge deal and a very special meal - they looked like a pain to prepare. I've only had them stuffed - never dipped in butter. Oh and my mom is from Boston and I was born in CT so another east coaster as well.