Hi Alana, Just sent you an email. I hope you get it. Thanks. Maria

But I guess when you tell the DW that a new food is also called “fartichoke” ….. The chances of her wanting to actually try it out goes way down. I’ll have to remember that. ==>> yeah.. you probably should .. lol.. hilarious.. thx for todays chuckle ... ken

If you would like a recipe that uses Jerusalem artichokes as one of the ingredients instead of the central ingredient, there is a roast chicken with Jerusalem artichoke recipe in the cookbook "Jerusalem" by Otto Lenghi. In fact he has a number of recipe using this tuber. I've not made the dish, but this cookbook and Lenghi's other cookbooks are remarkable, no recipe therein has ever disappointed me. So you've inspired me to go looking for Jerusalem artichokes and make this dish myself. Here is a blog with the recipe, and an inspiring photo - kind of chatty but you can just skip to the end for the info. https://vikalinka.com/roast-chicken-with-jerusalem-artichokes-and-lemons/ Here is a Guardian article with plenty of information and more recipes. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/15/seasonal-food-jerusalem-artichokes

Thanks floral. Leaves of H. rigidus look too narrow. None of the plants had more than 1 bloom - probably down to low light conditions. When I check online, I can only find H. annuus and H. tuberosus listed as being present in Italy. ** See below It surely isn't H. annuus and H. tuberosus just doesn't feel right. Hmmm. Fof Correction & update: I should have said that H.a & H.t were the only species listed in Abruzzo. Another contender is Helianthus x laetiflorus. This though, like H rigidus/pauciflorus, is not listed in Abruzzo. If they are there next year, I'll lift one and check the roots