What’s in a name? When it comes to Jerusalem artichokes, less than you may think.

Unlike their moniker implies, these tuber vegetables aren’t from this eponymous holy city (they’re actually native to North America) and aren’t a type of artichoke (although they do have a similar taste). Yet, this shouldn’t stop you from remembering their name since they are a vegetable that is at once delicious and wonderfully good for health.

Speaking of names, you may see these vegetables going under a different one in the market or on a restaurant menu. They are also called sunchokes, referring to their being a cousin of the majestic sunflower to whose botanical family (Helianthus) they belong.

But when you look at Jerusalem artichokes, sunflower is probably the last image that may come to mind. Rather they look more like a gnarled ginger root or a knobby roughened version of those urban vinyl collectable toys.

Jerusalem artichokes are another example of that tried and true maxim: Don’t judge a book by its cover (or a vegetable by its exterior). Within these nodular tuberous treasures lies a food that is at once sweet and nutty, containing essences of both cocoa and their namesake artichoke. Raw, they have a refreshing crunch like jicama while cooked they bear a resemblance to slightly al dente potatoes. Read More…

If there were something in your food that scientists, healthcare researchers, and consumer advocates thought questionable, you’d probably want to know, right? Well, if you live in the U.S., this information may be more difficult to obtain than you’d think.

The reason: Our country doesn’t require labeling for foods that have been genetically modified (GM). While genetic modification of food is a complex process, the bottom line is this: the DNA of the seeds from which the food is grown have been altered, oftentimes by mixing it with the genetic code from other species.

Why don’t we have the liberty to know which of our foods are “real” and which are grown from manipulated GM seeds?

While the answer is complex and beyond the scope of this article, it is worth noting that the government committee responsible for setting GM food in motion was headed by a chemical industry executive and included no members of the USDA or FDA. (This committee was actually spearheaded by ex-VP Dan Quayle, which is kind of ironic when you think that the man infamous for not being able to spell “potato” played a great role in casting the dye for this arena of our government’s food policy.)

If GM seeds were just a novelty, this may not be much of an issue. But novelty they aren’t: in fact, the Grocery Manufacturers of America, more than five years ago, had estimated that about 70% of all packaged foods sold here contained a GM ingredient. So chances are you’re likely to come across these foods on any given grocery-shopping outing. And yet not know. Read More…

Namaste.