Dasies

Magnolias

• General & History
• Health Considerations - and nutrition
• Links - to information on Sunflowers

Jeruselem Artichoke
"Sunchokes" as they are called in California are the root tubers of a variety of sunflower. This plant is aggressively productive but the tubers have been prevented from becoming a major food crop by being one of the most powerful flatulence producers known to man. If you intend to enter a farting contest this is the breakfast of champions. They also turn grey soon after cooking because of the high iron content.

Both the flatulence and greying problems can be reduced thanks to research by Harold McGee published in The Curious Cook. Slice the Sunchokes and then boil them in lots of water for at least 15 minutes before using them in a recipe. In the last 5 minutes add a good dollop of lemon juice or citric acid to the water (if you add it at start of boiling the slices will be firmer, but may be firmer than you want).

The "Artichoke" part of the name comes from the cooked root tasting much like artichoke heart. The Jeruselem part is probably a distortion of the name of the Dutch town of Terneuzen from which they were imported into England. It is unlikely to have derived from "gerasole", the Italian name for sunflower as sunflowers were not so called until years after the English started using the "Jeruselem" name.

Sunchoke - see Jeruselem Artichoke.