The Jerusalem artichoke, also known as sunchoke, can be produced throughout the United States. However, the plant is better adapted to the northern two-thirds of the country than the southern third. Jerusalem artichokes are also often used for pickling purposes. The fresh tuber tastes like a water chestnut and is used in salads. Tubers can also be cooked like potatoes. The edible portion of this member of the sunflower family is the tuber or swollen end of an underground stem, which in some respects resembles a potato. However, unlike most starchy vegetables, the principal storage carbohydrate in sunchokes immediately after harvest is inulin rather than starch. When consumed the inulin is converted in the digestive tract to fructose rather than glucose, which can be tolerated by diabetics.

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