If you've never eaten an artichoke, you might be at a loss when confronted with preparing or consuming one. The procedure isn't intuitive--you don't just pop the leaves in your mouth and chew away, or else the tough fibers and sharp leaf tips will wreak havoc on your entire digestive system. But when approached correctly, an artichoke can be a delicious, healthy and unusual addition to any meal.

[edit] Steps

Cut off the sharp leaf tips with an artichoke knife or scissors. This is optional, but it makes eating the artichoke much easier later on.
Boil the artichoke in salted water or steam them for 20-45 minutes, until tender. Don't cover the pot if boiling, or else acids in the artichoke will not be able to escape and they will turn the artichokes brown. You can also microwave them, individually wrapped in plastic, for 8-15 minutes, or put them in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes. You know it is done when you pull at a leaf and it comes away with little resistance.
Outer Leaves

Drain them upside down.
Take the outer leaves off one by one and hold like a potato chip.
Coat the tip (the part that was attached to the heart of the choke) in whatever dip has been offered. Some common dips are:
- Mayonnaise (try mixing with a little bit of balsamic vinegar)
- Mixture of oil, salt and vinegar
- Melted butter
- Ranch dressing
Gently nibble or scrape off the tender bits of the bottom of the leaf by putting the leaf in your mouth, closing your teeth on it, and pulling the leaf outwards.
Discard the leftover leaves in a container or in a pile on your place.
Continue until you get to the smaller center leaves that don't have much meatiness to them. These leaves look a bit different than the outer leaves and often have a translucent quality with a bit of purple on them.
Pull off the center leaves. Depending on how well-cooked the artichoke is, you can sometimes lift off the smaller inner leaves all together for one last dip in the sauces and bite the ends off delicately (but don't eat the sharp tips). They cover a finer, almost hairy growth just on top of the heart of the artichoke. Some people call this part the "choke," which is what you will do if you eat it, as it is very prickly.
Remove the choke using gentle strokes with a fork or the toothed edge of a kitchen knife until you are down to the heart. This is a very important step and often where people go wrong without proper instruction.
Eat your heart out. The heart of the artichoke is the most prized portion and often the only part restaurant chefs use in their recipes, but at home you can savor the whole artichoke experience. Enjoy.

[edit] Tips

Artichokes can be eaten cold or hot.
Artichokes can also be stuffed.
Make sure you provide a discard bowl, about one medium-sized bowl per two people, when serving the full cooked artichoke.
Don't discard the stem, as it can be nearly as tasty as the heart when cooked.
It is nice to dip artichokes in a small bowl of melted butter before eating.
Steaming artichoke in a large pot on a steaming rack with about an inch of water on medium will hold the flavor in more.

[edit] Warnings

Don't confuse what's described here, a globe artichoke, with Jerusalem artichokes and Chinese artichokes, which are completely different plants from which the roots are eaten.