What is this vegetable?

[mileena]

I received these at a food pantry. I have no idea what they are. Some kind of root vegetable. I track macros, so I have to know. I ate them raw, and they are white inside, like a radish. The skinny roots attached to them were too tough to eat.

Thanks!

 

[Katie H]

Maybe a French breakfast radish.

Look at this: https://www.bing.com/images/search?...0F560&selectedIndex=151&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0

 

[blissful]

Did they have an odd smell when you cut them?
Interior white?
Did you bake or boil them or eat them raw?
Did they give you a lot of gas if you ate them raw?

They look like this at the end of summer before digging them up. They stand 10-12 feet high, and are a relative of the sunflower.

It could be these? Have you guessed?


possibly, a jerusalem artichoke.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Jerusalem artichokes go very well with Israeli couscous.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Jerusalem artichoke (also called sun choke) is in the sunflower family. It can be peeled, sliced or grated, and eaten raw. It's slightly sweet, and has the texture of a water chestnut. When cooked, it is much like a potato in texture, and can be served with butter, in stir fries, or like French fries.

If you wish to grow them, cut the sun choke knobs off and plant in you garden.
Each cut chunk will form a mature plant, with several sun chokes. They can take over a garden. When digging them up, if you miss any, you will have volunteers in your garden next year.

These are not only very tasty, but highly nutritious, naturally low in sugars, and get their characteristic sweetness from a compound called inulin, which is an important food source for good gut flora. So they are a prebiotic. Personally, I love them.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

I was wondering if they were sun chokes too. I think they are great. We use them in salads and with mixed roast vegis. Some people call them fartichokes, so they might give you, as one member of DC from England called it, "windy pops".

 

[mileena]

Sorry for my late reply, and thanks for all yours! See my replies below. I took more pics, including inside them, but a moderator has to approve that post first.

Maybe a French breakfast radish.

Look at this: https://www.bing.com/images/search?...0F560&selectedIndex=151&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0

Hmmm...good suggestion, but all the French breakfast radishes I have seen are move oval.

Did they have an odd smell when you cut them?
Interior white?
Did you bake or boil them or eat them raw?
Did they give you a lot of gas if you ate them raw?

They look like this at the end of summer before digging them up. They stand 10-12 feet high, and are a relative of the sunflower.

It could be these? Have you guessed?


possibly, a jerusalem artichoke.

Another good idea. Thanks for your research. They smelled like a normal root vegetable when I cut them open. I guess kind of neutral. They were white inside. I ate them raw and did not peel them. They were starchy, like a radish. But they aren't as bulbous or "crinkly" as a Jerusalem artichoke.

Jerusalem artichokes go very well with Israeli couscous.

Ok, thank you. But see my comments above.

Jerusalem artichoke (also called sun choke) is in the sunflower family. It can be peeled, sliced or grated, and eaten raw. It's slightly sweet, and has the texture of a water chestnut. When cooked, it is much like a potato in texture, and can be served with butter, in stir fries, or like French fries.

If you wish to grow them, cut the sun choke knobs off and plant in you garden.
Each cut chunk will form a mature plant, with several sun chokes. They can take over a garden. When digging them up, if you miss any, you will have volunteers in your garden next year.

These are not only very tasty, but highly nutritious, naturally low in sugars, and get their characteristic sweetness from a compound called inulin, which is an important food source for good gut flora. So they are a prebiotic. Personally, I love them.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

I hope they were Jerusalem artichokes, but I am suspicious they weren't.

I was wondering if they were sun chokes too. I think they are great. We use them in salads and with mixed roast vegis. Some people call them fartichokes, so they might give you, as one member of DC from England called it, "windy pops".

LOL. This is a good clue. I did have flatulence while sleeping, but I also had skim milk for the first time in a while, and I am partially lactose intolerant, so that also gives me gas.

 

[mileena]

Someone mentioned they might be cassava or manioc root?

Here are more pics I took, if they help:

 

[karadekoolaid]

I wonder whether this could be oca, or a form of ocumo - taro root.

 

[mileena]

I wonder whether this could be oca, or a form of ocumo - taro root.

Interesting. Thank you. I think they are not bulbous/"crinkly" like the pics of oca I googled. And the inside of mine a pure white, as opposed to speckled like oca.

 

[blissful]

Hi, the pictures above are the ones we harvested last year. The jerusalem artichokes have different varieties.
Shown on this website: Jerusalem Artichoke Mega Mix | Gardens for Life



This one looks more like what your pictures show. These are called aurora rubin.

 

[mileena]

Hi, the pictures above are the ones we harvested last year. The jerusalem artichokes have different varieties.
Shown on this website: Jerusalem Artichoke Mega Mix | Gardens for Life



This one looks more like what your pictures show. These are called aurora rubin.

OMG! I think we have a winner?!?! Thank you! Now that I look closely at my pics and yours, I think they are aurora rubin Jerusalem artichokes. You are right. So all the people here calling them Jerusalem artichokes or sunchokes were right; they are just a different variety.

The people in thid forum, including you, know their stuff! @Sir_Loin_of_Beef, @Chief Longwind Of The North, and @taxlady were right.