Artichokes may be eaten cold or hot, but I think they are much better hot. They are served with a dip, either melted butter or mayonnaise. My favorite dip is mayo with a little bit of balsamic vinegar mixed in.

• Pull off the leaves and dip:

  Pull off the outer leaves, one at a time. Dip the white fleshy end in melted butter, a vinaigrette, or sauce.

  

• Place light end in mouth, dip side down, pull, scraping through your teeth:

  Tightly grip the other end of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal.Discard remaining petal.

  

  Continue until all of the petals are removed.

  When you get to the tender inner leaves with the purple tips, you can remove them all at once. Dip and eat just the light colored parts of these leaves.

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• Scrape out the choke:

  With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the “choke”) covering the artichoke heart.

  
• Cut the heart into pieces and eat:

  Underneath the artichoke choke is the heart. Cut the heart into pieces and dip into melted butter, a vinaigrette, or a sauce to eat.

  My favorite artichoke dipping sauce? Some mayonnaise with a little balsamic vinegar stirred in.

  

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