For The Most Tender Artichokes, Be Sure To Soak Them Before Cooking

Artichokes are a delicious vegetable but for most people cooking them may seem intimidating. This green-colored globe wrapped in tightly packed petals with spiky ends requires the right preparation before cooking to produce a perfect finished dish. One of the key steps is soaking to make it tender.

Artichokes can be quite fibrous with tough leaves that may take time to cook through. Keeping them submerged in acidulated water (i.e. cold water with an acid like lemon juice) for about an hour softens them. But that's not the only benefit of soaking this vegetable. The acid in the water is the ingredient that will stop your artichokes from browning by slowing down the oxidation process. This happens because the water mixture prevents air from coming in contact with the vegetable. At the same time, the low pH inhibits the enzymatic action that causes the browning effect. It also improves the flavor of your artichokes once cooked.

Start by cutting off the top part of the artichoke, about one inch from the tip. Remove the outermost fibrous leaves and then snip off the individual spiky ends of the remaining leaves. Next, you can either cut off the entire stalk of this veggie if you want a flat base on which it can stand, or just trim it slightly and peel the remaining part to remove the little leaves on it and the tough fibrous covering. Once your artichoke is fully trimmed, wash it under running water to remove dirt and any grit that may be lodged between the leaves. Now the artichoke is ready for a soak.

To make the acidulated water in which you'll soak the artichoke, begin by putting cold water in a bowl then squeeze in lemon juice, drop the lemon inside, and stir to mix. In terms of measurements, for every 4 cups of water add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (which is the juice you get from a single average-sized lemon). You can also use vinegar to make this acidulated water. In that case, add about 1 ½ tablespoons of vinegar to the 4 cups of water. Now put in the trimmed and washed artichokes and allow to soak for about one hour. After the soak, remove from the water and your veggie is ready to cook your favorite artichoke recipes.