Kitchen Garden Simon Courtauld
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES
The Jerusalem artichoke has nothing to do with that city, or with anywhere else in Palestine or Israel. Nor has it any connection with globe artichokes (except for a slight similarity in taste).
It is a relative of the sunflower – in Italian, girasole – from which, it is thought, the name Jerusalem came to be adopted in England. I prefer the French name topinambour, after the North American tribe in whose territory these roots were discovered by French explorers in the 17th century.
It is one of the easiest vegetables to grow, requiring very little attention after the tubers have been planted in early spring, and it thrives on poor soil.
Once the plants have reached their full height, up to eight feet and with yellow ‘sunflowers’, they may need staking and will provide a useful windbreak. They will give protection to outdoor tomatoes and cucumbers, but bear in mind that they may also shade growing vegetables which would benefit from the sun.
The artichokes should be left in the ground until needed and, like parsnips, will improve in flavour after a good frost. Any roots left in the ground will produce more plants next year but, in my experience, the artichokes will be more knobbly and have a tougher skin after the second year. Ideally, new tubers – such as the smooth-skinned variety Fuseau – should be planted every other year.
What everyone seems to know about this root vegetable is the after-effect of eating it. Soon after the topinambour arrived in Europe, a botanist was writing in Gerard’s Herball that it caused ‘a filthy, loathsome, stinking wind within the body’. French cooks were reluctant to use it until Parmentier gave the potato and the root artichoke his seal of approval.
All sorts of health benefits are claimed for Jerusalem artichokes, because they are a rich source of vitamin C and the dietary fibre inulin. I have also read that the flatulent effect can be controlled by eating them regularly.
Clearly, there is much to be said for a ‘fartichoke’ diet.