And not an artichoke, either.
These are SUNCHOKES.
I wonder what they taste like. Anyone tried them?
According to Wikipedia, The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), also called sunroot, sunchoke, earth apple or topinambour, is a species of sunflower native to eastern North America.It is also cultivated widely across the temperate zone for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable.[2]
I haven’t harvested my tubers yet ‘cos I’m still enjoying the flowers — that’s about all that’s flourishing in my garden during this horrible drought in California — but when I do, I’ll probably roast them with garlic, since we got a HUGE string of garlic from Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world, the last time we drove through central Cali.
Sunchoke Liqueur
Have you ever tried sunchoke liqueur? Maybe best of all, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, over 90% of the Jerusalem artichoke crop is used to produce a spirit called “Topinambur (de)”, “Topi” or “Rossler”.[13] By the end of the 19th-century, Jerusalem artichokes were being used in Baden to make a spirit called “Jerusalem Artichoke Brandy”, “Jerusalem Artichoke”, “Topi”, “Erdäpfler”, “Rossler”, or “Borbel”.
Jerusalem artichoke brandy smells fruity and has a slight nutty-sweet flavour. It is characterised by an intense, pleasing, earthy note. The tubers are washed and dried in an oven before being fermented and distilled. It can be further refined to make “Red Rossler” by adding common tormentil, and other ingredients such as currants, to produce a somewhat bitter and astringent decoction. It is used as digestif, as well as a remedy for diarrhea or abdominal pain.
If you’ve cooked with them, please send me your recipes. Thank you!
Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud 
My mother spoke of eating these as a child. She would just dig them up, wash off and eat raw with a bit of salt.
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Wow, well, I did read about eating them raw but that is super easy-I’ll have to try that, too. Thank you!
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I’ll be ttoo, like a turnip, they’d be good grated into a vegetable salad.
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I lived in Jerusalem for 9 years and never saw a Jerusalem artichoke, but I did see regular artichokes. A lot of them. These look like ginger root. Just saying.
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You’re correct, but I don’t know what to say. It somehow seems so odd to me to eat what grows beneath the soil-peanuts, ginger, potatoes, beets, radishes. I don’t know why it’s disconcerting, but it is! (to me)
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