Artichokes can be intimidating. The prickly, thick, cactus like vegetable is enough to send any good cook running, so why bother? The thing is after prepping and cooking the beast you come out feeling a bit more accomplished. And even your kids are bound to look up from their electronics long enough to give a round of applause and chow down.
Artichoke is rich source of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure by countering effects of sodium. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation.
Best time to get artichokes: Artichokes are most plentiful and taste the best during spring months, such as March, April and May.
Finding the right artichoke: It's best to look for artichoke's with closed heads, the leaves should form a tight laver around the rest of the vegetable. The artichoke should be firm and a bit heavy for its size. Don't worry if the stem is a bit brown, it just means it was cut recently. But if the stem is slimy or overly dry the artichoke is no good.
How to store artichokes: Artichokes are the freshest when they are kept loosely wrapped in plastic wrap and put in the fridge. Fresh artichokes will last about a week in the fridge.
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