Unless you’re serving artichokes with the leaves on (either halved or whole) you’ll need to trim the heads down to the hearts before you cook them to get at the tender heart. The exception is for baby artichokes, you can leave the stem on those. For all other artichokes, cut the stem off. Then cut the top inch or two off the head to make it easier to handle. Starting at the base and working all the way around, trim the leaves and tough flesh off until you’re left with just the heart and tender inner leaves. Halve this lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the hairy choke. Immediately transfer to a bowl of lemon juice-spiked water to prevent discoloration. Cook using your favorite recipe!