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Jerusalem artichoke

Stem with flowers
Znanstvena klasifikacija
Kraljestvo: Plantae
(nerangirano) Eudicots
(nerangirano) Asterids
Red: Asterales
Družina: Asteraceae
Pleme: Heliantheae
Rod: Helianthus
Vrsta: H. tuberosus
Znanstveno ime
Helianthus tuberosus
L.

The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), also called the sunroot or sunchoke or earth apple or topinambur, is a species of sunflower native to the eastern United States, from 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

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It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1.5–3 m 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 cm long and the higher leaves smaller and narrower.

The flowers are yellow, produced in capitate flowerheads which area 5–10 cm diameter, with 10–20 ray florets.

The tubers are elongated and uneven, typically 7.5–10 cm long and 3–5 cm 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

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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 resemblence to the garden sunflower. Over time the name Girasole may have been corrupted to Jerusalem.[4] To avoid confusion some people have recently started to refer to it as sunchoke or sunroot [navedi vir].

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.[navedi vir]

History

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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

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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. 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, have a consistency much like potatoes, and in their raw form have a similar taste to potatoes. The carbohydrates give the tubers a tendency to become soft and mushy if boiled, but retain their texture better when steamed. The inulin is not well digested by some people, leading in some cases to flatulence and 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." [5]

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.[6]

Liquor

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In the Baden-Württemberg, Germany, over 90 percent of the Jerusalem artichoke root is used to produce a spirit called "Topinambur", "Topi" or "Rossler".[7]


Pyramid Scheme

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In the 1980s the Jerusalem artichoke also gained some notoriety when its seeds were planted by mid-western 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 acreage of the crop were ruined.[8][9][10]

References

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  1. 1,0 1,1 Germplasm Resources Information Network: Helianthus tuberosus
  2. 2,0 2,1 2,2 Purdue University Center for New Crops & Plants Products: Helianthus tuberosus
  3. Huxley, Anthony Julian (1992). The New Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0333474945. OCLC 29360744. {{navedi knjigo}}: Prezrt neznani parameter |coauthors= (predlagano je |author=) (pomoč)
  4. Smith, James Edward (1807). An introduction to physiological and systematical botany . str. 108f. A corruption, 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. Gerard's Herbal, cited in Davidson A. (1999). The Oxford Companion to Food, first edition. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-211579-0.
  6. USDA Agricultural Research Service, http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data//SR20/reports/sr20fg11.pdf
  7. C.A.R.M.E.N. e.V.: Topinambur - Energiepflanze für Biogasanlagen. In: Newsletter "nawaros" 11/2007, Straubing.
  8. "Jerusalem Artichoke", Commercial Vegetable Production Guides, Oregon State University
  9. 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)
  10. "The Great Jerusalem Artichoke Circus The Buying and Selling of the Rural American Dream (publisher's review)", University of Minnesota
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