What is it?
It is not an artichoke and certainly it doesn’t come from Jerusalem. It is
a species of sunflower (Helianthus
tuberosus) native to North America. It can be also
called sunroot, sunchoke, earth apple or topinambur.
It is cultivated for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable.
The knobby sunchoke tubers look similar to ginger roots, with light brown skin
which may be tinged with yellow, red, or purple depending on the soil they are
grown in. Prime season - from October to April, and they are best dug after a
light frost. So go ahead and try them, the time is now!