On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 597

Burdock Roots and tubers from northerly members of the lettuce family share three characteristics: an abundance of fructose-based carbohydrates, little starch, and a mild flavor reminiscent of the true artichoke (also a lettuce relative) The fructose carbohydrates (small-chain fructosans and starch-like inulin) provide both an energy store and an antifreeze mechanism for the overwintering plants Humans don’t have the enzymes necessary to digest fructose chains, so beneficial bacteria in our intestines feed on them instead, in the process generating carbon dioxide and other gases that can cause abdominal discomfort if we’ve eaten a large portion of these vegetables The sunchoke is the nonfibrous, plump tuber of a North American sunflower (Helianthus tuberosus), whose traditional and obscure name is “Jerusalem artichoke.” It’s pleasantly moist, crunchy, and sweet when raw, and becomes soft and sweet after brief cooking When cooked for 12–24 hours at a low temperature, around 200ºF/93ºC, sunchoke carbohydrates are largely converted to digestible fructose, and the flesh becomes sweet and translucently brown, like a vegetable aspic Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius), sometimes called “oyster plant” for the supposed flavor resemblance, and black salsify or scorzonera (Scorzonera hispanica) are Mediterranean natives Their Eurasian relative burdock (Arctium lappa) is most appreciated in Japan as gobo All three of these elongated taproots become undesirably fibrous with size and age, are rich in phenolic compounds (those in gobo are potent antioxidants), and therefore readily turn grayish-brown — at the surface when cut and peeled, throughout when cooked Other Common Roots and Tubers ... salsify or scorzonera (Scorzonera hispanica) are Mediterranean natives Their Eurasian relative burdock (Arctium lappa) is most appreciated in Japan as gobo All three of these elongated taproots become undesirably... to digestible fructose, and the flesh becomes sweet and translucently brown, like a vegetable aspic Salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius), sometimes called “oyster plant” for the supposed flavor resemblance, and black... fibrous with size and age, are rich in phenolic compounds (those in gobo are potent antioxidants), and therefore readily turn grayish-brown — at the surface when cut and peeled, throughout when cooked Other Common Roots and Tubers