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When distinguishing regular potatoes from sweet potatoes, we might say “white potatoes,” but that is certainly misleading, since potatoes come in many colors, including blue, red, pink, and yellow, as well as the familiar brown with white flesh. Sweet potatoes are even more confusing, because sweet potatoes are sometimes called yams, which they most certainly are not. (Yams are starchy, not sweet. They grow in tropical climates, where they can reach 7 feet in length, with flesh ranging in color from off-white to yellow to pink to purple and skins from off-white to a dark brown.)

Potatoes are America’s most popular vegetable according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service; the typical American consumes more than 140 pounds of them every year (compared with 50 pounds per year for tomatoes, the next most popular vegetable). On the other hand, sweet potatoes are considered the most nutritious vegetable. Nutritionists at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) ranked the sweet potato number one in nutrition of all vegetables. Clearly potatoes are prizewinners in the vegetable family.

Like potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes originated in the New World. Their roots sustained Native Americans but have not been widely adopted by modern cooks. The slightly sweet roots taste like a cross between potatoes and globe artichokes, if you can imagine that.

Jerusalem Artichokes

The Jerusalem artichoke, a member of the Sunflower family, is an edible tuber sometimes called the Canadian potato or sunchoke. A native of the Americas, it was first described by Samuel de Champlain, who discovered it in his explorations of Lake Champlain in the 1600s.

The tubers grow underground like potatoes, but they are harder to harvest because they cling to their roots and become entwined. Any tubers left in the ground will reseed themselves, which can result in the plants spreading like weeds. The plants grow from 3 to 12 feet high and have large leaves and bright yellow flowers that are 1½ to 3 inches in diameter. They grow well in almost any soil but do best when it’s alkaline. They are a common sight growing wild along fencerows in New England.

Jerusalem artichokes are starchy, like potatoes, but the starch is in the form of inulin, a polysaccharide from which fructose can be produced. Not everyone can digest inulin easily, and some people find that it causes a great deal of gastric distress. For this reason, sample the root carefully when first eating it to avoid what John Goodyer, an early English adapter, wrote in the 1600s: “But in my judgement, which way soever they be drest and eaten they stir up and cause a filthie loathesome stinking winde with the bodie, thereby causing the belly to bee much pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine, than men.”

Availability

Jerusalem artichokes are harvested beginning in the fall, after a few frosts have sweetened them, through early winter, for as long as the soil can be worked. They may be harvested again in early spring.

Storage

Although you can store Jerusalem artichokes for a few weeks buried in sand in a cold root cellar, they overwinter nicely and are best stored in the ground. Once harvested, they should be stored in a perforated bag in the refrigerator, where they will keep for 1 to 2 weeks.

How to Buy

Choose firm, unwrinkled tubers with a minimum of knobs.

Preparation

To peel or not to peel is the question. If the tuber has a minimum of knobs, it isn’t difficult to peel, and it looks better that way. But if you do peel the tubers, drop them into acidulated water (1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice added to 4 cups water) to keep them from discoloring. If you don’t want to peel, then give the tubers a good scrubbing with a vegetable brush. They can be cooked whole or sliced.

Cooking Ideas

Jerusalem artichokes can be thinly sliced and added to salads, much like water chestnuts. Their flavor is more developed when cooked, and they are best roasted (see page 159). They can be cooked alone or with potatoes