Boiled artichokes

With a serrated knife, cut off the dried-out bottom ends and the tops; none of it is edible.

Pull off the outer layer of tough, dry leaves.

Trim the prickly tip from each remaining leaf with kitchen shears.

With a wide vegetable peeler (or a paring knife), trim the base and stem, getting into the crevices.

Hold the trimmed artichokes in water with a little lemon juice, lemons left in, to stop them oxidizing and turning black. They float, so cover with a kitchen towel or paper towels soaked in the liquid to keep air off the tops.

Put the artichokes in a pot with water just over them and boil until the stem pierces easily with a knife or skewer and a pulled leaf scrapes clean with the teeth. Planned at about 30 minutes; these bigger, older ones took about an hour; young tender ones take half an hour or less.

Drain; eat hot, or cool to room temperature and refrigerate to eat cold the next day.

Serve with hollandaise, homemade or store-bought mayonnaise, or melted butter.

To eat, peel off the leaves and scrape them with the teeth; discard the purple, spiky center leaves, scrape out the thistly choke with a spoon, and eat the heart and stem.