and fill with water until about 1-inch below the steamer basket. Cover and heat the water on high. Allow the water to come to a boil while preparing the artichokes.
Rinse the artichoke under cold water and peel off any leaves that are on the stem.
Work your way around the entire artichoke and trim the tops of the leaves to get rid of the pointy tips. Stop when the leaves become difficult to separate.
Cut off the bottom of the stem, leaving only about 1 to 1.5 inches of stem.
Use a vegetable peeler to peel off the outer layer of the stem. Rub the lemon all over the exposed stem.
Cut off the top 0.5 to 1 inch of the artichoke, trimming any leaves weren’t trimmed earlier.
Cut the artichoke in half, from stem to top. Rub the newly cut area with lemon.
Scoop out the fuzzy choke from the center. Run the entire artichoke under cold running water to get rid of any fuzzy choke that my have migrated. Rub the newly exposed area with lemon.
By now the water should be boiling. Reduce the heat to low and bring the water to a simmer.
Cover and steam for 10 to 12 minutes, until a paring knife easily pierces the stem.
Notes
Depending on the size of your artichokes and the size of your steamer basket, the amount of artichokes you can steam at a time may vary. To avoid browning, work in batches and don’t begin trimming the next artichoke until the first batch has already been steamed.