Catching a Rainbow

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An excellent company, taking wonderful photographs.
Highly recommended.

English spoken

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To visit the site click here

Both the mandarin and the clementine have the same nutritional value, indeed they are as similar as two drops of water and have become a mainstay of winter citrus fruits. They are often confused as being the same and often one is sold as the other, which can be confusing, especially when other varieties such as the tangerine and the satsuma are also considered.




• The mandarin orange
The Mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) or simply mandarin, comes from a small citrus tree which has fruit resembling an orange.
Citrus fruits in general, as with so many other fruits, are native to China, spreading throughout Southeast Asia and ultimately the globe since they were first cultivated 4,000 years ago. The name mandarin refers to the bureaucrats and priests of imperial China who wore bright orange robes and who were often the only class of people permitted to eat the fruit.
Although cultivated for over 3,000 years in China, mandarin oranges did not reach Europe in large quantities until the late 18th century. Specimen trees were imported into England from China in 1805 and by the mid-1800s, the mandarin orange was found throughout the Mediterranean. Later the name tangerine was reserved for a specific reddish orange cultivar of the mandarin found in Algeria, but imported into Europe via Tangiers. (The tangerine is a cultivar of the mandarin and not a distinct subclass).
The tree is more drought tolerant than the fruit but both are easily damaged by the cold. There are many types of mandarin, many bred by cross pollination with another citrus fruit. Most citrus fruit trees are usually self-fertile which results in fruit with seeds although some are parthenocarpic which requires no cross pollination, the fruit developing without seeds as is the case with the increasingly popular clementine.





• Clementine
Said to have been found in Misserghin, Algeria by a Father Clement (Vincent Rodier, 1829-1904) over 100 years ago, the clementine arises from a natural crossing of the common mandarin and a sweet orange. Originally thought of as being a cross with the bitter Seville orange, this was proved not to be the case in 2002 by scientists at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research INRA.
Father Clement was working as the head gardener of an orphanage in Algeria when he found a different variety of fruit in a plantation of mandarins. The trees fruited much earlier than the original Chinese varieties and the fruit tasted much sweeter.
According to Louis Charles Trabut (1853-1929) a botanist working in Algeria, this highly important North African variety originated as an accidental hybrid of the Mediterranean mandarin and a willow-leafed ornamental variety. Following his recommendation the tree and the subsequent fruit were named by the Horticultural Society of Algiers as clementine.
Both Webber (1943, p. 558) and Tanaka (1954) two eminent botanists working in the field expressed doubt concerning the validity of this conclusion and more recently, a distinguished French authority in North Africa, has refuted it with convincing evidence. The current thought is that the clementine is of Oriental origin, probably Chinese, and that it is indistinguishable from and probably identical to the Canton mandarin described by Trabut in 1926, who also remarked on the similarities between the two.
The fruit are small, very sweet, and are usually seedless, unless they have been cross pollinated with another type of citrus fruit. The fact that clementine’s are seedless has led to their popularity in certain parts of the world, including the UK and the USA. However, the eating of seedless fruit in regions surrounding the Mediterranean has in the past been frowned upon as it was anecdotally believed to be a cause of impotence, and not in keeping with a Mediterranean lifestyle!




• Satsuma
The satsuma mandarin originated in Japan, more than 400 years ago, where it is known as mikan. The name satsuma is credited to the wife of a United States minister to Japan, General Van Valkenberg, who sent trees home in 1878 from Satsuma, the name of a former province.
There are some 100 different varieties of satsumas in Japan but only about a dozen varieties are exported. Once readily available in the UK, the satsuma has recently become hard to find and has in many areas been replaced by the clementine or the mandarin orange.
The satsuma has a particularly delicate flesh, which cannot withstand the effects of careless handling or vigorous transportation. The uniquely loose skin of the satsuma, which made it so popular with children, as it is so easy to peel, also meant that it was easily damaged and that any such bruising and damage would not be immediately apparent upon the typical cursory visual inspection associated with assessing the quality of other fruits. In this regard, the satsuma is often categorised by citrus growers as a hit-and-miss fruit and has accounted for its rapid decline in recent years.
One of the distinguishing features of the satsuma is the distinctive thin, leathery skin which is lightly attached around the fruit, enabling it to be peeled very easily in comparison to all other citrus fruits.


OTHER STUFF:
The colour of citrus fruits only develops in climates with a cool winter. In tropical regions with no winter, citrus fruits remain green until maturity.
The first common clementine introduced into Corsica was planted in 1925 by M. Don Philippe Semidei in Figaretto, on the eastern plain of the island.
Most mandarins end up as tinned fruit as they are able to stand the processing.


References
http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/clementine.html
http://www.international.inra.fr/press/a_new_clementine_for_corsica
http://asaweb.huh.harvard.edu:8080/databases/botanists?id=100126

January, a time when thoughts turn to root vegetables, hearty soups and slow cooking, when once in a while something comes along to lighten the heart.
Lambs leaf lettuce is just such a thing. At a time when nature is at its deepest slumber, this delicate vegetable steps forward as if to remind us that there will be a spring, and that the interminable cold and gloom will not last forever, in perpetuity.


HISTORY:

Salads originated in the Mediterranean basin. Evidence of such has been found in the tombs of the pharos dating from the 5th century BC.
The culture of corn salad, or lamb’s leaf lettuce first began in France, alongside the River Loire, during the Renaissance period of the 14th Century. Images of the crop appeared in a painting by Leonardo de Vinci, Léda and the Swan, which has unfortunately been lost.
The 15th Century poet Pierre de Ronsard sang of the “small salad of the fields and meadows…” where the lettuce remained, a long time wild. Two centuries later the crop made its way into cottage gardens and its domestication began.
Following the second French Empire a Parisian restaurant owner created a salad in celebration of the Italian king Victor Emanuel II, a salad of lamb’s leaf lettuce, turnip and beetroot - the colours of the Italian flag.
Primarily grown in France and the Netherlands, Lambs leaf lettuce is known by many different names. Clairette, Corn Salad and La Doucette or "the little sweet one" in French. In Germany it is known as Feldsalat (meaning field salad) and in addition mâche,rampion, Rapunzelsalat, Salade de Chanoine, Salade de Prêtre are all common names.


BUYING:

Lambs leaf lettuce looks similar to water cress, but with a milder slightly bitter nutty taste. The leaves are said to be the shape of lamb’s tongues and are found in small clumps. As with all salads it is better not to buy those that are pre-washed and pre-packed and often preserved in a protective atmosphere. Once the bag is opened they degrade very quickly and are best eaten within one or two days.
Buy in clumps, complete with the sandy roots, which are a result of the soil this vegetable prefers to grow in. The leaves are extremely fragile and will not tolerate being crushed, better to place them on the top of a shopping basket where they can be carefully looked after.

STORING:

The lettuce does not store well, better to buy often and then replenish the supply. A few days in the bottom of the fridge are all than can be expected of this hardy, yet at the same time fragile crop.

PREPARING:

It cannot be emphasised enough, when washing lambs leaf lettuce, allot of water is required, a whole sink...and that is for the first washing. Remove any roots, but pinch them off using your thumb and forefinger just below the base, so maintaining the leaves in their original small bunch, which looks more appealing on the plate.
Fill the sink and allow the lettuce to float for about thirty minutes, agitating the water every so often. The sand trapped in the roots will be released and fall to the bottom of the basin.
Drain the lettuce, empty the sink cleaning away any sand, and then repeat the process.
Gently place the salad in a salad spinner, an absolutely indispensible item for any kitchen, indeed no salad should be placed on the table until it has been spun to remove the excess water. (Click on the below link to order one)
All salads should be dressed, it is the utmost in laziness to serve a salad un-dressed as happens all too frequently in the United Kingdom.

COOKING:

Not usually done, however the leaves can be added to a stir fry at the very last minute, or cooked very quickly and used as a replacement to spinach.
As with all salads a vinaigrette dressing of your choice is preferable, but for the same reason care should be taken as when transporting, any vinaigrette should be served apart, and added to the leaves at the last moment. If poured over the salad, and left for any more than a few minutes, the fragile leaves will begin to cook in the acid thus becoming limp, unpalatable and only fit for the dustbin.
In fact, a vinaigrette dressing or other sauces made with strong acidic ingredients are not the best for Salade de mâche. Walnut oil, in which a few slices of green apple have been allowed to soak for twenty minutes, or a small piece of citrus fruit, will provide all the acidity required and provide a subtle yet well balanced dressing which will perfectly complement your salad.


OTHER STUFF:

Lambs leaf lettuce, with its delicate fruity flavour complements strong flavoured food admirably. Fruit, dried fruits and nuts, particularly walnuts, are a wonderful combination. It goes well with pâté, chicken livers and duck. Later in the meal the leaves complement certain cheeses, particularly goat’s cheese from the Loire valley, as well as blue cheeses of all varieties.

All pre-packed salad should be thoroughly washed, even if it claims to be ready-washed. A major cause of food poisoning in France and something which doctors warn against during pregnancy, is supposedly pr-washed salad goods.


Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878) First king (1861-1878) of united Italy and last king of Piedmont-Sardinia (1849-1861).
Victor Emmanuel succeeded his father Charles Albert to the throne of Piedmont-Sardinia in 1849, following the abdication of Charles Albert after two humiliating defeats by Austria… Victor Emmanuel successfully met various crises in the early years of his reign.
In the 1850s Piedmont-Sardinia remained the only constitutional state in Italy, a haven for persecuted Italian nationalists and liberals who had been involved in the 1848-49 revolutions. By 1859, assured of military support by Napoleon III of France in the Treaty of Plombières, Piedmont-Sardinia once again went to war with Austria. As a result of this conflict, Austria ceded Lombardy. Successive upheavals in the smaller states of central Italy and Giuseppe Garibaldi's successful campaign in southern Italy against the Neapolitan Bourbons led to the creation of a united Italy…

RECIPES:

Lambs leaf salad with beetroot and pine nuts


©Copyright Malcolm Hamilton 2007-2008






References:
http://www.mache-nantaise.com/
http://www.mache-nantaise.com/
http://www.mache-nantaise.com/
Bibliography
F. Cognasso, ed. Le Lettere di Vittorio Emanuele II. (Turin, 1966).
Denis Mack Smith. Victor Emanuel, Cavour and the Risorgimento. (New York, 1971).
Denis Mack Smith. Italy and Its Monarchy. (New Haven, 1989).
H. McGaw Smyth, "The Armistice of Novara: A Legend of a Liberal King," Journal of Modern History (1935): 141-74.
F. Valsecchi, ed. Le Relazioni diplomatiche fra l'Austria e il Regno di Sardegna (1849-1860). (Rome, 1963).

The misnamed Jerusalem artichoke has no real link with Jerusalem at all and only a distant link to the more familiar Artichoke, both coming from the same family of plants the family Asteraceae or Compositae.
It is a relative of sunflower native to eastern North America, from the state of Maine to North Dakota, and south into some of Florida and Texas
It has a distinctive nutty flavor which has been suggested to be similar to that of glove artichoke hearts- being used in many recipes to replace or compliment potatoes. The plant which if left unattended can become an invasive weed is a wonderful source of an inexpensive but delicious food.

HISTORY.

Jerusalem artichokes were found being cultivated in North America and are said to have been introduced into Europe by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. Although de Champlain described the vegetable tuber as tasting of artichokes there real taste is similar to that of Chinese water chestnuts. Certainly not native to Jerusalem, the route of the name is thought to derive from the Italian for Sunflower, girasole to which the Jerusalem artichoke is related. Indeed the plant resembles a many stemmed sunflower complete with numerous small sunflower type blooms.
In France the Jerusalem artichoke was synonymous with rationing during the World War II when they were grown as a food staple all over the country.

BUYING.

Roots should firm, dense and free from spongy soft areas. Their shape, not dissimilar to ginger can be very nobly and one should try to buy the largest tubers available.

STORING.

Jerusalem artichokes will keep for several weeks in the salad chiller of the fridge but are better stored in a cool dry area such as a garden shed or garage covered with sand, much the same way as carrots are often stored.

PREPARING.

As potatoes.

COOKING.

A perfumed vegetable without being too scented which can be used to make a different recipe wherever potatoes are called for. Often thought of as peasant food and not fit to grace the tables of high society, the Jerusalem artichoke marries perfectly with the woody aromas of wild mushrooms and dried fruit and nuts. The flavour utterly sublime with lobster and crab can also be used with other seafood such as scallops.
They can be cooked as potatoes – baked roasted, sauté, boiled or steamed, and as with potatoes Jerusalem Artichokes will discolour when exposed to the air. Once peeled and cut maintain their colour by storing in acidulated water, using either a little vinegar or preferably lemon juice.


OTHER STUFF.
Because of the peculiarities in the digestion of Inulin, the form of carbohydrate found in Jerusalem Artichokes, they do have the side effect of causing flatulence.



RECIPES.

Cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup

Seared scallops with bacon, Jerusalem artichoke puree and crushed peas

Chicken and Jerusalem artichoke pie

Jerusalem artichoke and sage gratin

©Copyright Malcolm Hamilton 2007-2008

Cabbage, one of the oldest of the brassica family is the ancestor of modern day broccoli and cauliflower.
Many varieties of cabbage are found today, but here I will concentrate on the green cabbage varieties such as Savoy, Kale, Curly kale and the Drumhead.

HISTORY:

Cabbage has eaten in Europe for more than 4,000 years even before it became a domestic vegetable. The original cabbage, related to the mustard family, was a large open leafed plant, which has been bread since the Middle Ages by northern European farmers to produce the large dense headed vegetable we know today. It soon became a major crop in Europe being perfectly adapted to a northern European climate, produces high yields per hectare and stores well throughout the winter.
The Latin word brassica is said to derive from the Celtic word for cabbage, bresic. The English name cabbage comes from the French slang caboche, meaning head, which refers to its round form.
Common green cabbages have thick leaves, which are tightly wrapped to form a large dense head. The leaves of the Savoy cabbage are crinkled and thinner than common cabbage, and the Savoy has a les pronounced flavour.
Cabbage, as with other brassicas, has a high sulphur content, which is released whilst cooking and is one possible reason for cabbage having such a bad name as a vegetable, we all remember the smell of over boiled cabbage from school.


BUYING:

As with all green vegetables, freshness is the key to success. Cabbage should always be eaten as fresh as possible, as it has the most to make up compared to others. Often wrapped in cellophane making it difficult to fully assess how fresh the vegetable really is. A cabbage should have large outer leaves left intact as it is these which wilt first thus showing the cabbage is not as fresh as it could be. These outer leaves, too bitter to be enjoyed, are removed and discarded, preferable composted. The inner cabbage head should be bright, firm and feel heavy in the hand. The leaves should squeak as they are removed-a sure sign of a fresh cabbage.

STORING:

Cabbages can be stored for a week or so in a cool well ventilated place, the bottom of the fridge is not ideal as the leaves soon become desiccated, losing nutrients and flavour.



PREPARING:

• Discard the large, dark outer leaves leaving just the tightly packed head.
• Carefully remove the leaves one at a time and remove the central vein running up the middle of each leaf.
• Place a manageable quantity of leaves stacked one on the other in a pile on a chopping board.
• Using a large cooks knife cut across the pile of leaves, shredding them as finely as is possible. The finer they can be shredded, the quicker they will cook and the better they will taste.
• If you wish the central stem can also be shredded, it can be bitter, and is not to everyone’s taste, so many prefer to discard it.



COOKING:

The trick to making cabbage not only edible but a joy is to cook it in plenty of lightly salted boiling water and to cook for only 3 or 4 minutes depending on taste. Once cooked, and it must have some bite left in it, drain swiftly and add to a pan containing melted butter, just foaming. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

OTHER INFORMATION:


Cabbage is one vegetable that does not benefit from long cooking or being ‘messed about with,’ quick simple cooking is preferred.
The flavour of cabbage, which is strong and peppery, is well complemented by any of the following spices: black pepper, caraway seed, celery seed, dill weed, garlic, mustard seed, nutmeg, savoury, tarragon and thyme.
Cabbage goes particularly well with other winter vegetables such as carrots, leeks, onions and potatoes.
Cabbage is an ingredient in certain varieties of borscht, when combined with beetroot. In Central Europe it is made into a soup and is also extremely popular in India. Stuffed cabbage is an East European delicacy. The leaves, which are often used in place of vine leaves, which are filled with chopped meat and rice.
Cabbage is the basis for the famous German sauerkraut and the lesser known Korean kimchi.



RECIPES.


Caldo verde (Portuguese green soup)

Wilted cabbage salad with bacon and cashel blue cheese

stir fried green cabbage

assorted cabbage recipes

spiced Indian cabbage

In France the sixth of January is known as the Day of the Kings, and in common with many other countries of the world it is the day when figurines of the three kings are traditionally added to the Christmas nativity scene; thus extending the festival beyond the customary twelve days celebrated in Great Britain.

The French have a rich and varied culinary history and French chefs have for centuries adapted their skills and recipes to commemorate famous historical events.
Whether it is a pastry commemorating the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race, or a chicken stew with eggs and crayfish to celebrate Napoleons crushing victory at the Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800), or even the much-maligned Peach Melba, invented to commemorate the visit of a famous opera singer to England.

In the case of Epiphany they created a cake… the Kings Cake, made in celebration of the three wise men and their visit to Bethlehem 2007 years ago. The moniker kings did not appear until the third century AD and was an elevation of the term, wise men, or magi.




The Gateaux des Rois or the Galettes des Rois, depending on whether you live in the north or the south of the country, fill the shelves and window displays of both Boulangeries and Pâtisseries all over France from just after New Year, right through to Easter. But, the most important day is the sixth of January, Epiphany.











The date for the festival was set Pope Julius II (December 5th, 1443 – February 21st, 1513), the one time bishop of Carpentras, a town situated north east of Avignon on the edge of the Rhone Valley, in south-east France.

In England, Epiphany begins the day after Twelfth Night, which traditionally brings the Christmas period to an end. In France however, Christmas officially ends on February the second with yet another celebration, the feast of Candlemas.
Thus the serving of Galettes des Rois is still thought of as a Christmas time celebration, which has been practiced for years.


It is not clear when the Galettes des Rois were first invented, let alone whether that invention was French or not. Certainly eating special cakes in celebration of the Epiphany is not just a French tradition, as the same exists in North America, Spain, Mexico and other European countries.

In France, during the reign of Louis XIV (September 5th, 1638 – September 1st, 1715) the ‘celebration of the festival of the kings’ was banned.
The church believing that the festival had its roots in early paganism and was contrary to biblical teaching, thus the interdict. The Catholic Church also believed that the day of celebration was merely an excuse for overindulgence and unwanted immoral behaviour and was not something good God-fearing people should entertain.
The French people ever inventive at getting round rules and regulations they do not agree with, re-introduced the day as ‘La fête du bon voisinage,’ or ‘good neighbours day’ and presumably the cake was reintroduced at the same time, but with possibly a different name.

Cakes have been used in the celebration of the Epiphany since the Middle Ages and as with other regions of the world the cake in France varies from one region to another.
Of the two versions in existence in France today, the southern Brioche based bun is probably the elder of the two.



The current version of the Galette, which is indistinguishable from Gateaux Pithiviers, in all but name, was probably not in existence before the 17th Century.



Yeast based buns have been used in pagan festivals since the times of the pharaohs and were being baked in ancient Greece as long ago as 1500BC. Bouns or buns were used in pagan worship in celebration of Cecrops the First, the founder of Athens, which was long before the modern version of puff pastry was perfected by Marie Antoine (Antonin) Carême (June 8, 1784–January 12, 1833).



Carême, often called the chef of kings and the king of chefs, perfected modern day puff pastry from which the northern Galettes des Rois and Pithiviers are made. However, Carême did not invent puff pastry. The delicate leaves of this wonderful creation have graced recipes both sweet and savoury since the 18th century, but the original recipe probably a variation of Baklava, was introduced into France during the Islamic occupation of the country in the 8th Century.

Regardless of which recipe was used, all reference to kings, kingdoms and crowns were dropped during the French revolution (1789 - 1799.) when the festival of the kings fell as the executioner’s blade.
The original celebration may have been usurped, but not so the cake. Renamed the ‘Gâteau de l’Êgalité or the equality cake, for obvious reasons, the French drew lots to decide which citizen would present the galettes to the assembled masses and the tradition of dividing and sharing the pastry continued.

The cake, in France has two forms: a pastry and a bun and neither can be called a true cake.
In the north of the country, including Brittany, the Galettes des Rois is more evident. The Galette is based on one of the most famous French Pastries coming from a commune in the Loiret département of France. To all intents and purposes the Galettes de Rois is a Pithiviers made in a slightly different shape. Some recipes however, do call for the addition of cinnamon, cloves or other eastern spices, which make it dissimilar to the traditional pastry, which contain just frangipane or almond paste (not to be confused with marzipan).
The addition of spices reaches back to the nativity and is a reminder of the wise men and their gift of spice and is a strong bond with Epiphany.



In the south, notably in the region of Provence and further west along the Mediterranean coast towards Spain, the preferred recipe uses brioche.
Brioche is a butter enriched yeast dough which for the gateaux is made into a ring and decorated and adorned with candied fruit, glazed with syrup and sometimes flavoured with orange oil. The fruit, brightly coloured, emulate the jewels of a crown and the gateaux is glazed and baked until it glistens, resembling gold.
Neither version can be called a true cake, regardless of where they come from, nor are they the only Kings Cake that exist.



In the Catalan region of Spain, an autonomous region historically associated with France, there are neither the Gateaux des Rois or the Galette des Rois. In Catalonia the Tortell de Reis is King.

The Tortell is a ring or crown shaped enriched sweet bread, similar to the French brioche, which are often stuffed with marzipan and topped with glazed fruit.

The Spanish influence transcends the Atlantic Ocean into Mexico, where the Rosca de Reyes is made to celebrate the magi. This version calls for sweetened bread, decorated with pieces of candied fruit such as orange and lime, which are again representations of the jewels in a crown. The Mexican version is often filled with nuts, dried figs, and cherries, not necessarily an almond paste as in Europe.

In Germany and Switzerland the Dreikönigskuchen or the three kings cake is eaten for breakfast on the day of epiphany and is another derivative of the rich brioche based bun from the south of France.

The Kings Cake, in a similar guise, is also found a few miles north of Mexico, in the southern states of America. Here, vast numbers are eaten, forming a focal point of the celebration of Mardi gras.
In early Catholicism, Epiphany was considered to be the first day of lent and the eating of the Kings cake was also an excuse for using up food not suitable to be consumed during the fasting period: such as almonds, eggs, sugar and butter.
Mardi gras, a French word, literally meaning fat Tuesday, is the same celebration as the British Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, which heralds the opening of the Lenten period.
The word shrove, not common in American English, is the past tense of the old English word to shrive, and describes the period of confession early Anglo-Saxon Christians were expected to perform prior to Lent.
It is not clear whether the American version of the cake is an adaptation of the Mexican and Spanish Rosca and Tortel’s or if the gateaux arrived with the Acadian settlers forced to head south through America, into Louisiana, following the Great Expulsion.

The Acadians were French immigrants who originally settled in the northeastern region of North America, until they were forced from their homes, by the British during the great Expulsion of 1755. This expulsion, also known as the Great Upheaval, was the forced removal of the French speaking population of Nova Scotia between 1755-1763.
The migrants moved south and settled in and around Louisiana where they became know as the Cajuns and it was possibly these people who introduced the southern French Kings Cake into the present day United States of America.
The American version of the Kings Cake, which is similar in style to the one eaten in Spain, pre-dates modern day puff pastry. This further suggests that the southern French brioche based recipe is older than the more recognisable puff pastry based Galettes des Rois eaten further north. It is a simple fact that the French had fully established their colonies in America by the time Antonin Carême worked his magic and the lighter version of the cake, so enjoyed in Brittany, did not make its was across the Atlantic to the Americas.

To be continued ©MalcolmHamilton 2007

Jerusalem artichoke

The misnamed Jerusalem artichoke has no real link with Jerusalem at all and only a distant link to the more familiar Artichoke, both coming from the same family of plants the family Asteraceae or Compositae.
It is a relative of sunflower native to eastern North America, from the state of Maine to North Dakota, and south into some of Florida and Texas
It has a distinctive nutty flavor which has been suggested to be similar to that of glove artichoke hearts- being used in many recipes to replace or compliment potatoes. The plant which if left unattended can become an invasive weed is a wonderful source of an inexpensive but delicious food.

HISTORY.

Jerusalem artichokes were found being cultivated in North America and are said to have been introduced into Europe by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. Although de Champlain described the vegetable tuber as tasting of artichokes there real taste is similar to that of Chinese water chestnuts. Certainly not native to Jerusalem, the route of the name is thought to derive from the Italian for Sunflower, girasole to which the Jerusalem artichoke is related. Indeed the plant resembles a many stemmed sunflower complete with numerous small sunflower type blooms.
In France the Jerusalem artichoke was synonymous with rationing during the World War II when they were grown as a food staple all over the country.

BUYING.

Roots should firm, dense and free from spongy soft areas. Their shape, not dissimilar to ginger can be very nobly and one should try to buy the largest tubers available.

STORING.

Jerusalem artichokes will keep for several weeks in the salad chiller of the fridge but are better stored in a cool dry area such as a garden shed or garage covered with sand, much the same way as carrots are often stored.

PREPARING.

As potatoes.

COOKING.
A perfumed vegetable without being too scented which can be used to make a different recipe wherever potatoes are called for. Often thought of as peasant food and not fit to grace the tables of high society, the Jerusalem artichoke marries perfectly with the woody aromas of wild mushrooms and dried fruit and nuts. The flavour utterly sublime with lobster and crab can also be used with other seafood such as scallops.
They can be cooked as potatoes – baked roasted, sauté, boiled or steamed, and as with potatoes Jerusalem Artichokes will discolour when exposed to the air. Once peeled and cut maintain their colour by storing in acidulated water, using either a little vinegar or preferably lemon juice.


OTHER STUFF.

Because of the peculiarities in the digestion of Inulin, the form of carbohydrate found in Jerusalem Artichokes, they do have the side effect of causing flatulence.

RECIPES.

Cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup

Seared scallops with bacon, Jerusalem artichoke puree and crushed peas

Chicken and Jerusalem artichoke pie

Jerusalem artichoke and sage gratin