To clean the artichoke, many people suggest taking kitchen scissors and cutting off the tip of the leaves before cooking. The leaves often have a few small thorns on them. You can do this or not. It is optional because the thorns go soft when you cook the artichoke and cause no harm.

The "choke" though does have to be removed. The choke is the inedible part of the artichoke that is at the base of the vegetable, near the root. This MUST be removed before the vegetable is eaten. If you look at the image above you will see a scooped out part in the center of the vegetable where the choke was removed.

Cut the artichoke in half and remove the fuzzy choke from each half. Rinse the artichokes to clean them.

Steam them in a steamer basket or pot for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the leaves come off easily.

To eat, pull of the petals or leaves and dip them into the butter sauce. Suck the middle of the artichoke leaves out. Do not eat the leaf itself. Simply discard them.