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Photo by Holly A. Heyser
I’ve eaten a lot of preserved or pickled artichokes in my time, but this recipe is the best I’ve yet found. This is a riff off a recipe for pickled artichokes I found in Eugenia Bone’s Well-Preserved, one of the better pickling books to come out in recent years.
I’ve been known to troll the farmer’s markets late in the morning, eyeing the artichoke vendors. Why? Near the end of the day’s market, the farmers are more willing to sell their stock at a discount. And since I eat a lot of these artichokes, I need to buy a lot. And even here in California, artichokes aren’t cheap.
Pickled, marinated artichokes
The key here is to use small artichokes, babies really. You can use large ‘chokes, but it is a lot more work and you will need to chop the hearts into three or four pieces. Small artichokes are a commonplace in California farmers’ markets, but you might need to order them if you live in a colder clime.
But it’s worth it. These chokes are firm, fresh-tasting and absolutely delicious — nothing at all like the preserved artichokes you get in the store.
Makes 2 quarts.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
- 40-50 baby artichokes
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 1 cup olive oil
- 5 sliced garlic cloves
- 4 dried chiles
- About a dozen juniper berries (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 4 lemons, sliced in half
__________
- Put everything but the artichokes in a large pot and bring it to a boil. Cover and turn off the heat.
- Fill a canning kettle (I use a stock pot) with enough water to cover the quart Mason jars you will need to can these artichokes. You will need something on the bottom of the pot to keep the glass jars off the bottom. I use a steel veggie steamer with the feet pulled off, or you could use spare jar rims. Put it on medium heat.
- Get a large bowl and fill it with cold water. Squeeze 2 lemons into the water and drop the lemons into the bowl. Pick off the tough outer leaves of the artichokes, leaving only the ones that are tightly attached and yellow at the center. Trim the outer layer off the choke bottom, leaving as much as you can — you need a sharp knife for this. Rub the artichoke all over with cut lemon and drop it into the bowl with the lemons. This prevents them from oxidizing and turning brown. Repeat until you are done.
- Turn the heat back onto the pot with the seasoned vinegar and oil. Put the artichokes in that pot, stir around and bring to a boil. With a slotted spoon, fill the Mason jars 3/4 full with the artichokes. Ladle the vinegar-oil mixture over the chokes evenly. If you run out of sauce, you can add a little vinegar and oil to top off. Make sure the rims of the jars are clean and dry, and that you are using brand-new lids. Close the jars.
- Submerge the two jars in the now-boiling water of the stockpot. Let this boil for 15-20 minutes. Let cool on a cutting board until the artichokes return to room temperature. They will keep a year. Refrigerate after opening.
first time my plant made fruit this march. Recommend it with PURPLE OF ROMAGNA artichoke. Was like eating perfume. Who knew??? Wild thorny plant but worth every ouch. If you pick young you can eat every bit of it (minus spikes).
thanks, have a small pile from the garden yet to use. this is perfect.
Just made these and they turned out great! After sampling yours in Bodega Bay, they’ve been on my brain. But not having a source for baby chokes, I had to hunt around to find some in good shape.
Try as I may, rubbing with lemon then putting in acidulated water didn’t keep them from oxidizing on cut surfaces. Yours don’t have a trace- what’s your trick Hank?
[...] used Hank’s recipe on Honest-food.net without any tweaks. A pressure canner is usually required for preserving most [...]
Get outta here! You trimmed and prepped fifty baby artichokes in thirty minutes? Impressive.
I made this recipe and it is so worth the work…but now, after about a month, I notice that some of the batch soaked up all the brine and there’s no apparent liquid in the jar. Do you know if these would still be safe to eat? The brine didn’t leave the jars (obviously), and the the jars are solidly sealed so I assume the acid is intact, but I”m nervous…
Jayne: That’s happened to me, too. But they’ve always been fine.
When you pickle artichokes can you eat the whole plant including the choke? Or do you need to remove it? (If the answer differs for baby and adult artichokes please let me know.)
[...] up: Pickled Artichoke Hearts. Last year I made three quart jars using this recipe from Hunter Gardener Angler Cook. They were so delicious that I’m going to try and make them more of a pantry staple this [...]
Can I use a little less vinegar? I made these a few weeks ago and have found them a little too sour for my taste. I was looking in my canning book and most of the pickled vegetables had a brine of half water and half vinegar.
Wow! These were truley THE BEST artichokes I’ve ever had. This was my first time making them but I’ve eaten many. None compare. Thanks for sharing.