Skip to main content
Main

Boiled Artichokes

Boiled artichokes served with white sauce or melted butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Isabella Beeton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 4 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Boiled Artichokes

4 persons

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash the artichokes well in several waters; ensure no insects remain and trim away the leaves at the bottom.

  2. Cut off the stems and put them into boiling water, to which salt and soda have been added in the above proportion.

Boil and serve

  1. Keep the saucepan uncovered and let them boil quickly until tender; check doneness by thrusting a fork or testing if leaves can be easily removed.

  2. Take them out, let them drain for a minute or two, and serve in a napkin, or with a little white sauce poured over.

  3. Serve with a tureen of melted butter.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

49Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
13 gCarbs

Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 2 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Isabella Beeton. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Artichokes (in the method)
The main vegetable; boiling makes the base and leaves tender enough to eat.
Melted butter (in the method)
Adds richness and fat that complements the mild, slightly bitter flavour of the artichoke.
Soda
Raises the water's alkalinity, which helps keep the artichoke's green colour during boiling.

The step that matters

Boil uncovered until tender. Boiling uncovered lets volatile compounds escape and keeps the green colour, while cooking quickly prevents overcooking. Check tenderness with a fork, since undercooked bases are tough and overcooked leaves turn mushy.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Tomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesBrown BreadBrown Bread461 recipesMutton BrothMutton Broth292 recipesYorkshire PuddingYorkshire Pudding264 recipes