Other names for the plant include French or Canada potato (these make at least a bit of sense), earth apple, and sunroot. (This one seems like a real stretch to me.) Hondins was from Ter-Heusen, Holland, and “Ter-Heusen” became “Jerusalem” in the United States. Finally, there’s a theory which points to a 17th-century Dutch gardener named Petrus Hondins, who distributed the tubers throughout Europe. One theory says that because the tuber was a staple food for pilgrims in North America, which they thought of as “new Jerusalem.” Another possible origin is that “Jerusalem” sounds like “girasole,” the Italian word for sunflower. When baked in their skin - which can be pink, purple, or gray - Jerusalem artichokes acquire that potato-artichoke taste.Īs for the “Jerusalem” part of the name, we’re less certain.
Uncooked, the flesh has a nutty, sweet, crunchy flavor like raw chestnuts or mild radishes. The Jerusalem artichoke produces knobbly, white-fleshed (or less commonly, red-fleshed) tubers that can be eaten either raw or cooked. The “artichoke” part of the name comes from how the tubers taste when baked: like what you’d get if a potato and an artichoke heart had a mild-tasting baby. Before we get into its nutritional and culinary properties, let’s explore the origins of this mysterious tuber and its name. Aside from that, the name makes perfect sense. The Jerusalem artichoke isn’t actually an artichoke, and it’s not from Jerusalem.
The plant can grow between 5-10 feet in height, standing slightly taller than a typical sunflower plant and carries many flower heads that are golden in color. The Jerusalem artichoke, or sunchoke, is a tuber vegetable that comes from a type of sunflower native to the Americas. What does it taste like, and how do you prepare it? Does it have any health benefits? We’re answering these questions and more in this article. If you’ve ever perused the less prominent areas of the produce section and wondered, what is that ginger root-ish, potato-y, almost pine cone looking thing, you’ve probably found a Jerusalem artichoke.
0 kommentar(er)
