Today’s guest post is from Evan Thomas. Evan came in through the Contributor form recently and I love this post on the Jerusalem Artichoke, mostly since I hadn’t heard of it before. If you’re interested in contributing to Nomadic Foodie about recipes, your favorite restaurants, or anything else fun about food and travel, click here.
- – - – - – - – - -
My friend Tyler, who I’ve known since middle school, travels around the U.S. working on organic farms. He has no possessions except the contents of his hiker’s backpack and his trusty Hawaiian t-shirt, which he seems to wear almost everyday. Needless to say, Tyler knows what great food looks and tastes like – a fact I know from experience.
I once visited him on an organic farm in New Hampshire, where his main jobs were ‘preparing’ the chickens (I will spare the gory details), looking after the tomatoes and selling their produce at the local farmer’s markets.
Because of his close relationship with food, I was inclined to trust his judgment when he took me to the market one Sunday and introduced me to the Jerusalem artichoke.
The Root of It
Tyler always encourages me to eat foods that are ‘close to the Earth’, or unprocessed.
The Jerusalem artichoke, a root vegetable, for example, is directly from the ground (which, lest I state the obvious, is probably the closest you’re going to get).
If you’re curious about this topic there are tons of great books he recommended to me on the subject like: The China Study, Eating Animals, Omnivore’s Dilemma (my favorite), In Defense of Food, The Holistic Cook Book.
Grow A Pair!
The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), also referred to as a sunchoke, is a creamy marriage of a radish and fingerling potato. Marinate them in little salt and olive oil then stick them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, and you’ve got yourself a healthier version of French fries — It was love at first bite.
With Tyler’s recommendations, and a little plant research and comparison, I discovered that the Jerusalem artichoke:
- Is native to 48 U.S. states and Canada
- Has one of the highest plant densities per area of any plant and one of the smallest root depths, making it ideal for those of us with Tiny Farms and an affinity for root veggies.
- Has a high drought and temperature tolerance, which means the plant, is great if you live in unfriendly climates, because it’s tough enough for even the most environmentally rugged Tiny Farms.
All in all, if you have a personal garden and a slight addiction to root veggies, this is a great plant to consider growing.
In the market
If you don’t have a small garden or Tyler’s lifestyle, then your local farmer’s market will almost indubitably have these delicious little morsels. I definitely consider the Jerusalem Artichoke as one of my top 5 favorite foods, all thanks to a weekend trip to a farm in New Hampshire.
{ 1 trackback }