FOOD RESOURCE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
JAPANESE ARTICHOKE
Excerpts from Hawkes, Alex D. 1968. A World of Vegetable Cookery. Simon and Schuster, New York.
Japanese Artichoke (Stachys Sieboldii, of the Mint Family) is a most distinctive plant, today cultivated for the abundant white tubers produced just under the ground's surface. It is also known as Chinese Artichoke (the species is indigenous both to China and Japan), chorogi (Japanese), crosne du Japon (French), and Knotroot.
These tubers, two or three inches long, and conspicuously knotted throughout their length, are pristine white when fresh, quickly becoming brownish and rather soft after being dug. Only the very firm, fresh tubers should be cooked.
The tubers of Japanese Artichoke are somewhat reminiscent of those of Jerusalem Artichoke, with which it has no botanical affinity-and are similarly used. They are very tasty if scrubbed, sliced, and eaten raw-perhaps just with salt, or with a light vinaigrette.