Artichokes

History

Mary Randolph's 'Artichokes' is a plain preparation of the globe artichoke: the heads are soaked and washed, boiled gently in salted water until a drawn leaf shows them tender, and served with melted butter. It appears among the vegetable recipes of The Virginia House-Wife (first published 1824) and is listed separately from 'Jerusalem artichokes,' a different plant. The vegetable descends from the wild cardoon; food-history scholarship holds that the globe artichoke was domesticated in Roman times, 'possibly in Sicily,' and was spread by the Arabs during the early Middle Ages, with the first certain commercial records being trade from Sicily to Florence in the early 15th century. By the 18th century globe artichokes were being grown in the American colonies, reportedly introduced by the French, and in Randolph's era they were cultivated in Virginia gardens, including at Monticello — Jefferson's Garden Book records artichokes at table across 1794 to 1825 — and at Mount Vernon. The record does not document any social-status meaning for this dish, so none is asserted.

Ingredients

• artichokes
• 1 handful salt
• melted butter

Instructions

1. Soak the artichokes in cold water and wash them well. Put them into plenty of boiling water with a handful of salt and let them boil gently until they are tender, which will take about an hour and a half to two hours.
2. The surest way to know when they are done is to draw out a leaf and test its tenderness. Trim the artichokes and drain them on a sieve.
3. Send up melted butter with them, with some butter placed in small cups so that each guest may have one for dipping.