Great food has a history. This one comes with table manners.
The Gilded Age is back on HBO for season four, and the premiere packed in a wedding, a birth, and a scandal. It also packed in an artichoke.
Jack Trotter (Ben Ahlers), the footman turned inventor, has money now. He has a new stand mixer to sell to men with deep pockets. What he does not have is the table manners those men learned as boys. So Mr. Bannister and his old friends below stairs give him a crash course: how to eat an artichoke, and where to find the oyster fork.
Here is how an artichoke was served and eaten in 1886, plus a simple recipe so you can practice the lesson at home. By dessert, you will handle one with more confidence than Jack did.
The Short Answer
To eat an artichoke, use your fingers. Pull off one leaf at a time, dip the pale base in sauce, and scrape off the soft part with your teeth. Discard the rest of the leaf. When you reach the center, scrape away the fuzzy choke, then eat the heart with a knife and fork. I know, such a waste, I recall not being terribly impressed when I first had artichokes as a young adult
Why Was an Artichoke a Test in 1886?
In 1886 New York, the artichoke was not an everyday vegetable. Until World War I, most of the artichokes Americans ate were imported from France. California did not make them common and affordable until the twentieth century.
That made the artichoke a quiet marker of class. You learned to eat one at fine tables, at restaurants like Delmonico’s, or on a trip abroad. Nobody taught it at the kitchen table. A man who fumbled his artichoke was telling the room he had not grown up in that world.
That is exactly Jack’s problem. His invention made him rich. It did not hand him the habits that Harvard and Yale men take for granted.
For more of the food behind the show, see our Gilded Age recipe hub.
How Did People Eat Artichokes in the 1880s?
We do not have to guess how it was done. In 1880, a “Table Etiquette” column in the Red Cloud Chief, a small Nebraska newspaper, laid out the rules. You eat the artichoke with your fingers. You pull out one leaf at a time between finger and thumb. You dip the fleshy end in the dressing served with it, eat only the tender pale part, and lay the rest on your plate.
The column added one more rule. The artichoke is always served as a course by itself. It was not a side dish to push around next to the roast.
If readers on the Nebraska prairie were studying these rules, you can be sure a New York dinner party expected guests to know them cold.
How Do You Eat an Artichoke? Step by Step
Here is the method, then and now. It has barely changed in 140 years.
How Did Victorian Cooks Boil Artichokes?
Isabella Beeton’s 1861 Book of Household Management, the bible of the Victorian kitchen, kept it simple. Boil the artichokes in salted water, uncovered, until a leaf pulls out easily. Drain them, serve them on a napkin, and send melted butter to the table in a sauce boat.
Two updates for today. Beeton added a pinch of baking soda to keep the leaves green. Skip it, because soda softens vegetables and can leave a soapy taste. Use lemon instead. And today’s large globe artichokes take longer to cook than her 20 to 25 minutes, so plan on 30 to 40.
For the sauce, we use drawn butter, the everyday butter sauce of the nineteenth-century American kitchen. It is richer than plain melted butter and clings to the leaves.
Make It a Course of Its Own
Follow the 1880 rule and serve the artichoke as its own course. It slows the meal down and gets people talking, which is the whole point of a dinner party. It also makes a fine starter for a Sunday night Gilded Age watch party. Pair it with something from our Gilded Age recipes and hand out the steps above. You will soon see who eats like a Russell and who eats like Jack before his lessons.
Artichoke Questions, Answered
Is it rude to eat an artichoke with your fingers?
No. Fingers are the correct way to eat the leaves, and they were in the 1880s too. Switch to a knife and fork only for the heart.
Which part of an artichoke can you not eat?
Skip the fuzzy choke in the center and the tough, fibrous upper part of each leaf. Eat the soft base of the leaves, the heart, and the tender inner stem if it is attached.
What sauce goes with artichokes?
Melted butter is the classic. Drawn butter sauce, hollandaise, and a simple vinaigrette all work well too. The vinaigrette is best when the artichokes are served cold.
How do you know when an artichoke is cooked?
A leaf from the center pulls out easily, and a knife slides into the base with no resistance. Large artichokes usually take 30 to 40 minutes in boiling water.
What episode of The Gilded Age has the artichoke scene?
Season 4, Episode 1, “Ring the Bells,” which premiered on HBO on November 1, 2026. Jack Trotter learns to eat an artichoke and find his oyster fork as he prepares to do business with high society.
A Final Thought
I love stories of life below stairs and how characters break free from service. In this instance, we see that the artichoke rewards patience. You work through a pile of leaves for a few bites at a time, and then you reach the heart. Jack’s new life looks a lot like that. The manners are the leaves. Let’s hope the heart is worth it.
Boiled Artichokes with Drawn Butter Sauce
Ingredients
For the Artichokes
- 4 large globe artichokes
- 1 large lemon halved
- 2 tablespoons salt
For the drawn butter sauce
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Pinch of white pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
Prepare the artichokes
- Trim. Cut the stem flush so each artichoke sits flat. Pull off the small, tough leaves at the bottom. Slice about an inch off the top. Snip the sharp leaf tips with kitchen scissors if you like. Rub every cut surface with lemon so it doesn’t brown.
- Boil. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with the salt and the squeezed lemon halves. Add the artichokes and set a heatproof plate on top to keep them under the water. Boil uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Test. They are done when a leaf from the center pulls out easily and a knife slides into the base with no resistance.
- Drain. Lift them out and stand them upside down for 2 minutes to drain.
Make the Sauce
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute without letting it brown. Slowly whisk in the hot water. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until it is as thick as heavy cream.
- Take the pan off the heat. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, a piece at a time. Season with the salt, white pepper, and lemon juice.
Serve
- Set each artichoke on its own plate on a folded napkin, as Mrs. Beeton did. Give each guest a small bowl of sauce and put an empty bowl on the table for the leaves.
Notes
• Make ahead: Artichokes are good warm or at room temperature. Cook them an hour ahead and rewarm the sauce gently.
• Serve them cold: The 1880 column mentions dipping in salad dressing. Chill the cooked artichokes and serve them with a simple vinaigrette for a summer version.
