Bring a pot of water to a boil or set up your pressure cooker.

Cut off the tops of the leaves. Cut 1-2 inches off the top until you see the top of the chock, which often is recognizable as kissed with a bit of purple.

Remove all but an inch of the stem. Using scissors you can trim off the pointy tips of the leaves or any hanging by a thread.

At this point, you can continue to remove the leaves as much as you like. Although removing much more is slightly tedious, since removing the leaves after the artichoke has cooked takes one simple step.

To boil:
Place the trimmed artichokes in the boiling water for about 15-20 minutes until tender. Check by slicing the stem with a butter knife or fork. It will easily cut when ready.

Alternatively, if using a pressure cooker:
Cover. Bring up to pressure. Lower the pressure and cook for about 4 minutes. Reduce the pressure, check the tenderness of the stem. If it is still hard, bring up to pressure again and repeat, checking every 2-4 minutes until the artichoke is tender.

After the artichokes are cooked & tender, run them under cold water while pulling off the remaining leaves. When you get to the hairy choke, use a spoon to scrape it out.

Use as you like at this point.

Starting with Baby Artichokes the same method applies but is much faster to cook and prepare. Just boil for less time, about 5-10 minutes. Remove any leaves that are not fully edible. Cut in half. Scrape out any choke at this point, although many baby artichokes don’t have much of any furriness developed.