"The Reid" wrote in message
...
Right, grown the artichokes, and fine looking plants they are, if a
bit scarey.

Cooking
When I was in Tudela I had lovely stews of whole baby artichokes and
broad beans but when I tried it last night with golf ball sized ones
they are like fibre glass. I stewed for 40 minutes.

Whats wrong? Surely they cant water them more than me, Spains dry,
isnt it.

crosspost to gardening, they might have an input, clever lot them
gardeners
--
Mike Reid

I can only speak for here, but we snap off or pare off the tough bits that
most assuredly are there before cooking. Once that's done you can even eat
them raw with lemon and oil.
Globe (but not violettas) will also have a choke, which is easily removed by
gently opening the flower and scraping with a teaspoon. I do all that and
dump them into a bath of lemon water to avoid yucky colors.