The Jerusalem Artichoke is not the best looking looking plant but the health benefits and taste of this remarkable tubar makes it deserve a place on your dinner plate.
The flavour creating by the Jerusalem Artichoke really does burst onto the plate and elevate any dish. It took its well deserved place on our Valentine Dine Braised Ox Balls Plate and it went down a treat.
We have the delight of been paid to experiement with lovely recipes for Jacks wonderful organic Veg Box Customers. This is one of our January recipes.
I am still licking my lips thinking about it now and I am excited to experitment more with this wondefully underate vegetable.
It is not from Jerusalem but in fact comes from a type of flower native to the Americas. 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 colour!
The name artichoke comes from how the tubar tastes when baked. Some people say it is what you would get if a potato and an artichoke heart had a mild tasting baby.
They aren’t from Jerusalem so why are they called that?
Some say it was because the tuber was a staple food for pilgrims in North America which they thought of as the “new Jerusalem”. Another thought is that “Jerusalem” is the Italian word for sunflower. What do you think?
Sometimes it also gets called a Sunchoke. It was coined in the 1960s by a produce wholesaler trying to make it sound like the must have veg! Not sure if a sunchoke makes it more appealing.
They are brilliant for you! They are high in complex carbohydrates, similar to potatoes, but they taste more sweet than starchy. They are high in antioxidants and have lots of vitamins and minerals!
They are a great source of inulin and oligofructose which are types of fiber that act as potent prebiotics of food for probiotics which are good bacteria in your gut. Inulin a soluble fiber that also works to balance your blood sugar.
