Focus on… riddle: do you know this vegetable?
I help you: also called Jerusalem artichoke, truffle from Canada ou perennial sun… Easy isn't it?
Well it is the Jerusalem artichoke ! Not necessarily very well known, I grant you.
Imagine that the species belongs to the same genus as the sunflower. It is cultivated for its edible tubers.
Jerusalem artichoke is in fact native to North America where it was cultivated by Native American tribes long before the arrival of Europeans, "a kind of root, large navel or truffle" - hence its other name "Canadian truffle. ". Its distribution in Europe is developing rapidly thanks to its easy cultivation, its hardiness and its strong vegetative multiplication, even in poor soils.
During the Second World War, its consumption increased, because Jerusalem artichoke, like rutabaga, was not requisitioned as war indemnities to be paid to Germany - unlike potatoes.
Jerusalem artichoke has long had a bad reputation: used to feed livestock or associated with food shortages and war memories. But at the start of the XNUMXst century, this tuber aroused renewed interest as part of the craze for forgotten vegetables. It is notably rehabilitated by chefs and in the markets where it is sometimes sold under the name of "Jerusalem artichoke".
Tubers can be eaten cooked in various ways: in salads, hot as an accompaniment, fried, mashed, fritters, sautéed in butter, etc ... They can also be eaten raw, grated or cut into strips, like raw vegetables in Vinaigrette. Their flavor is similar to that of artichoke bottoms or salsify.
They contain many vitamins, including A, C and B3, mineral salts, such as potassium, and carbohydrates, mostly in the form of inulin, which makes them a fairly low in calories. Inulin is not assimilated at the level of the small intestine, it constitutes a prebiotic metabolized by the bacteria of the large intestine and can cause flatulence ... there are not always only advantages in the vegetables that I present to you but still !
As for the explanation of its 3rd name “vivacious sun”… the answer is in the photo at the top of this newsletter…
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