Jerusalem artichoke

Jerusalem artichoke
Stem with flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Heliantheae
Genus:	Helianthus
Species:	H. tuberosus
Binomial name
Helianthus tuberosus L.

The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), also called the sunroot, sunchoke, earth apple or topinambour, is a species of sunflower native to eastern North America, and found from Eastern Canada and Maine west to North Dakota, and south to northern Florida and Texas.^[1] It is also cultivated widely across the temperate zone for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable.^[2]

Description

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1.5–3 metres (4 ft 10 in–9 ft 10 in) tall with opposite leaves on the lower part of the stem becoming alternate higher up. The leaves have a rough, hairy texture and the larger leaves on the lower stem are broad ovoid-acute and can be up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long and the higher leaves smaller and narrower.

The flowers are yellow, produced in capitate flowerheads which are 5–10 centimetres (2.0–3.9 in) in diameter, with 10–20 ray florets.

The tubers are elongated and uneven, typically 7.5–10 centimetres (3.0–3.9 in) long and 3–5 centimetres (1.2–2.0 in) thick, and vaguely resembling ginger root, with a crisp texture when raw. They vary in color from pale brown to white, red or purple.^[2][3]

Etymology

Jerusalem artichoke flowers

Despite its name, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relation to Jerusalem, and it is not a type of artichoke, even though both are members of the daisy family. The origin of the name is uncertain. Italian settlers in the USA called the plant girasole, the Italian word for sunflower because of its resemblance to the garden sunflower (note: both the sunflower and the sunchoke are part of the same genus: Helianthus). Over time the name girasole may have been changed to Jerusalem.^[4] To avoid confusion, some people have recently started to refer to it as sunchoke or sunroot.^{[citation needed]}

The artichoke part of the Jerusalem artichoke's name comes from the taste of its edible tuber. Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer, sent the first samples of the plant to France, noting that its taste was similar to an artichoke.^{[citation needed]}

History

Jerusalem artichokes were first cultivated by the Native Americans long before the arrival of the Europeans; this extensive cultivation obscures the exact native range of the species.^[1] The French explorer Samuel de Champlain found domestically grown plants at Cape Cod in 1605. The Jerusalem artichoke was titled 'best soup vegetable' in the 2002 Nice festival for the heritage of the French cuisine.

Cultivation and uses

Young plants in a garden

Unlike most tubers, but in common with other members of the Asteraceae (including the artichoke), the tubers store the carbohydrate inulin (not to be confused with insulin) instead of starch. For this reason, Jerusalem artichoke tubers are an important source of fructose for industry^{[citation needed]}. The crop yields are high, typically 16–20 tonnes/ha for tubers, and 18–28 tonnes/ha green weight for foliage. Jerusalem artichoke also has a great deal of unused potential as a producer of ethanol fuel, using inulin-adapted strains of yeast for fermentation.^[2]

Jerusalem artichokes are easy to cultivate, which tempts gardeners to simply leave them completely alone to grow. However, the quality of the edible tubers degrades unless the plants are dug up and replanted in fertile soil. This can be a chore, as even a small piece of tuber will grow if left in the ground, making the hardy plant a potential weed.

Jerusalem artichokes

The tubers are sometimes used as a substitute for potatoes:^[5] they have a similar consistency, and in their raw form have a similar texture, but a sweeter, nuttier flavor; raw and sliced thinly, they are fit for a salad. The carbohydrates give the tubers a tendency to become soft and mushy if boiled, but they retain their texture better when steamed. The inulin cannot be broken down by the human digestive system^[6], which can cause flatulence and, in some cases, gastric pain. Gerard's Herbal, printed in 1621, quotes the English planter John Goodyer on Jerusalem artichokes:

"which way soever they be dressed and eaten, they stir and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine than men."^[7]

Jerusalem artichokes have 650 mg potassium per 1 cup (150g) serving. They are also high in iron, and contain 10-12% of the US RDA of fiber, niacin, thiamine, phosphorus and copper.^[8]

Jerusalem artichokes can be used as animal feed, and, while they must be washed before being fed to most animals, pigs forage and safely eat them directly from the ground. The stalks and leaves can be harvested and used for silage, though cutting the tops greatly reduces the harvest of the roots.

Liquor

In Baden-Württemberg, Germany, over 90 percent of the Jerusalem artichoke root is used to produce a spirit called "Topinambur" (see German Wikipedia article), "Topi" or "Rossler".^[9]

Rossler

Pyramid scheme

In the 1980s, the Jerusalem artichoke also gained some notoriety when its seeds were planted by midwestern US farmers at the prodding of an agricultural pyramid scheme. There was little market for the tuber in that part of the US at the time, but farmers were assured that it would soon appear on the commodities market. Unfortunately, the only profits were realized by the initial distributors and the first few levels of farmers (who sold their seeds to subsequent levels of the pyramid). As a result many of the farms which had planted large quantities of the crop were ruined.^[10][11]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Germplasm Resources Information Network: Helianthus tuberosus
2. ^ ^{a b c} Purdue University Center for New Crops & Plants Products: Helianthus tuberosus
3. ^ Huxley, Anthony Julian; Mark Griffiths, and Margot Levy (1992). The New Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0333474945. OCLC 29360744. 
4. ^ Smith, James Edward (1807). An introduction to physiological and systematical botany. p. 108f.. "A change, as I presume, of the Italian name Girasole Articiocco, sun-flower Artichoke, as the plant was first brought from Peru to Italy, and thence propagated throughout Europe." 
5. ^  "Artichoke". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. 
6. ^ Peter Barham. The Science of Cooking. p. 14.. "we do not possess any enzymes that are capable of breaking down larger sugars, such as raffinose etc. These 3, 4 and 5 ring sugars are made by plants especially as part of the energy storage system in seeds and beans. If we ingest these sugars we can't break them down in the intestines, rather they travel down into the colon where various bacteria digest them - and in the process produce copious amounts of carbon dioxide gas" 
7. ^ Gerard's Herbal, cited in Davidson A. (1999). The Oxford Companion to Food, first edition. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-211579-0.
8. ^ USDA Agricultural Research Service, http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data//SR20/reports/sr20fg11.pdf
9. ^ C.A.R.M.E.N. e.V.: Topinambur - Energiepflanze für Biogasanlagen. In: Newsletter "nawaros" 11/2007, Straubing.
10. ^ "Jerusalem Artichoke", Commercial Vegetable Production Guides, Oregon State University
11. ^ Joseph Anthony Amato, The Great Jerusalem Artichoke Circus: The Buying and Selling of the Rural American Dream, University of Minnesota Press, 1993, ISBN 0-8166-2345-7 ISBN 978-0-8166-2345-7 (paperback), ISBN 0-8166-2344-9 ISBN 978-0-8166-2344-0 (clothbound)

External links

• Helianthus tuberosus – Plants for a Future database
• Jerusalem artichoke – Ohio Perennial & Biennial Weed Guide
• Complete nutritional info.
• Alternative Field Crops Manual: Jerusalem Artichoke