Assistance please: What are these?

[Beersmith]

I have taken on an extra plot. Technically from 1st April, but the previous tenant is moving and was happy for me to get started a bit early.  I was recently forking out a very old strawberry bed when I came across the tubers shown in the photograph. I suspect artichoke tubers, but is it possible to tell if they are Jerusalem or Globe? Or could they be something else I have not thought of? All top growth has gone, killed off I guess by the recent cold weather so no help there.

Any suggestions?

Cheers

Beersmith

[Beersmith]

[PondDragon]

Yes, Jerusalem artichoke. Globe artichokes are completely different with thick roots, not tubers.

[peanuts]

Enjoy them!  Jerusalem artichokes make a beautiful soup.

[Beersmith]

Thanks all.

Beersmith

[George the Pigman]

They definitely look like Jerusalem Artichokes but I've not seen pink ones before.
Beware - they will take over the plot! I put them in one season 20 years ago and despite every effort to remove them I still see some coming up.
They are delicious but can cause bad gas problems in the nether end with lots of people including me. They have a non-absorbable carbohydrate called inulin in them which is the cause.
I used to call them Jerusalem F**tichokes!!

[Obelixx]

All those on sale here and in Belgium are pink.  I grew some for several years a s a windbreak between my veg plot and the arable field behind and they didn't invade tho they can if conditions are right for them.

Plenty of recipes on BBC Good Food website and I also like to slice thinly, blanch a few minutes and then bake latered with cream and garlic as per dauphinoise potatoes.  Lovely earthy flavour.

[Beersmith]

Thank you George, Obelixx

I now have a dilemma. Much like salsify which I used to grow but have stopped although I love the flavour the negative effects proved too severe.

Cheers

Beersmith

[Obelixx]

If you parboil them whole you can rub off the skins more easily before processing further.  That helps reduce the fartichoke effect.

[Digeroo]

Personally I prefer the unrelated globes.  They are like a huge thistle.  The bees love the flowers. 
 

[George the Pigman]

Yes I love globe artichokes. I grew them from seed a couple of times but they aren't really hardy in Brum. I have cardoons on the plot that seem resistant to the worst frost and produce beautiful flower heads but never got round to eating them. Apparently you have to blanch them by wrapping them up or something like that.

[lottie lou]

Am I the only person that can't grow JAs?  They always kark it with me.  How do you cook you globes George?

[George the Pigman]

Just boil, steam or stir-fry. Then its musical blankets for me.

[John85]

If you are not successful with JA it could be because they are eaten by voles and other rodents.They do in my garden and I can't leave them in the ground during the winter.I have to store them in a drum buried in the garden.

[Vinlander]

Yes I love globe artichokes. I grew them from seed a couple of times but they aren't really hardy in Brum. I have cardoons on the plot that seem resistant to the worst frost and produce beautiful flower heads but never got round to eating them. Apparently you have to blanch them by wrapping them up or something like that.

I've had loads of them and they are just as good, but they are so much smaller it's more than 2 or 3 times as much work per mouthful. Also some  globe artichokes aren't prickly but cardoons always are.

I'm told the blanched/buried/wrapped stems taste best battered & fried hard & fast like pakora.

Cheers.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Jerusalems aren't hard to get rid of, just dig them out as they emerge and you won't miss any. Then put tender veg in the spot once you've got them all. I find cardoons really hardy as long as they're not waterlogged; I can only overwinter them in raised beds. You blanch the stems and use them in stews, but I haven't tried it yet, just treat the thing as an ornamental. I haven't tried globe artichokes.