Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) - Walmart.com.
The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), also called sunroot, sunchoke, wild sunflower, and topinambur, is a species of sunflowers native to central North America.The tuber is used as a root vegetable and is cultivated widely across the temperate zone.[5]
The Helianthus tuberosus is a perennial plant that grows to 1.5–3 m (4 ft 11 in–9 ft 10 in) tall with opposite leaves on the upper part of the stem but alternate below.The leaves are hairy.The leaves on the lower stem can be up to 30 cm (12 in) long.The leaves are larger on the stem.[7]
The flowers are yellow and produced in capitate flowerheads, which are 5–10 cm in diameter, with 10–20 ray florets and 60 or more small disc florets.[7]
The tuber is generally 7.5–10 cm long and 3–5 cm thick and resembles a ginger root in appearance.They can be pale brown, white, red, or purple.It was 5 and 8.
Native Americans used to cultivate H. tuberosus as a food source.The species expanded its range from central North America to the eastern and western regions because the tubers persist for years after being planted.The tubers were sent back to Europe, where they became a popular crop.Efforts to market it commercially have been successful in the late 1900s and early 2000s.[7]
The tuber doesn't have any oil or starch.It is a rich source of inulin and monosaccharide fructose.Tubers can be stored for any length of time.Jerusalem artichokes have an underlying sweet taste because of the fructose, which is about one and a half times as sweet as sucrose.[9]
It has been reported that inulin doesn't cause a spike in blood sugar like potatoes would, so it's a folk remedy for diabetes.The amount of inulin the Jerusalem artichoke can produce can be affected by temperature fluctuations.It makes less inulin when it's in a cold region.[2]
The Jerusalem artichoke doesn't have a relationship to Jerusalem, it's not a type of artichoke, and it is distantly related to the daisy family.Italian settlers in the United States called the plant girasole, the Italian word for sunflower, because it is related to the garden sunflowers.The name girasole was corrupted to Jerusalem over time.The Puritans named the plant "New Jerusalem" because they thought it was in the wilderness.The French or Canada potato, topinambour, and lambchoke are some of the other names applied to the plant.Sunchoke was invented in the 1960s by Frieda Caplan, who was trying to revive the plant's appeal.[9]
The Jerusalem artichoke's name comes from the taste of its tuber.The first samples of the plant were sent to France by Samuel de Champlain.[15][16]
The name topinambur dates from 1615, when a member of the Brazilian coastal tribe called the Tupinamb visited the Vatican at the same time that a sample of a tuber from Canada was on display there, presented as a critical food source.The name topinambur was applied to the tuber because of the New World connection.[17][18]
Jerusalem artichokes were first cultivated by the Native Americans and this obscures the native range of the species.The native people of Massachusetts had cultivated roots that tasted like artichoke.After returning to the area the following year, he discovered that the roots had a similar flavour to chard and that he was responsible for bringing the plant back to France.After planting a Jerusalem artichoke tuber in his garden at Terneuzen, Petrus Hondius was surprised to see the plant grow.Jerusalem artichokes thrive in the European climate and soil.The Jerusalem artichoke was a very common vegetable for human consumption in Europe and the Americas by the mid-1600s.The vegetable reached its peak popularity in the 19th century, and the French were fond of it.The Jerusalem artichoke was the best soup vegetable in the 2002 Nice Festival for the Heritage of the French Cuisine.
Jerusalem artichokes are suitable for eating and taste like chards, but more pleasant, according to the French explorer and Acadia's first historian.John Parkinson wrote in 1629 that the Jerusalem artichoke had become very common and cheap in London, so much so that even the most immoral would despise them.Jerusalem artichokes weredainties for the Queen when they first arrived in England.[19]
Unlike many other members of the Asteraceae, the tubers store their carbohydrate as inulin rather than as starches.Jerusalem artichoke tubers are used as a source of inulin in food manufacturing.[22]
Green weight for foliage is usually 18–28 tonnes perhectare (8–12 short ton/acre) and crop yields are high.Tubers can handle temperatures as low as 30C (22F) during the winter.Jerusalem artichoke has the potential to be used in the production of ethanol fuel.[5]
The tubers are used for cooking and baking in the same way as potatoes, but they can also be eaten raw.They have the same consistency, but in their raw form have a sweeter flavor.They are good for a salad when sliced thinly.When steamed, the tubers retain their texture better than if they are boiled.The inulin can't be broken down by the human digestive system.In some cases, this can cause pain in the stomach.John Goodyer is quoted on Jerusalem artichokes in John Gerard's Herbal.
They stir and cause a filthy stinking wind within the body, which causes the belly to be pained and tortured, and are a meat more suited for swine than men.