During my recent grocery run I made a stop into the L'Autre Choix Mini Marche located at 334A Avenue Victoria in Westmount. During a light conversation with owner Clara, I mentioned my blog and how I love demystifying some interesting, but uncommon ingredients. The moment I mentioned this, her eyes lit up... "Do you know of the Jerusalem artichoke?"

In the early 1600s, French explorer Samuel de Champlain (who founded Quebec City and explored parts of upstate Vermont) sent a new root vegetable he discovered back to France noting it tasted a lot like an artichoke.

But the Jerusalem artichoke, as it came to be known, has nothing in common with artichokes and is in fact a species of sunflower that is common in most of the eastern United States. As such, and to stem any confusion, many have renamed it the sunchoke or sunroot.

This root vegetable, which tastes quite like water chestnuts and cooks a lot like potatoes, is available all year but is at its best between November and March. While their bumpy and wrinkly skins had some in the 17th century believe they were the cause of leprosy, their peels are absolutely safe and edible.

They typically store in a cool and dry place for about three weeks when raw, but should be consumed within a couple of days after cooking. Freezing is not recommended.

Sunchokes can be consumed raw or cooked, and can be boiled, baked, steamed or fried, though they tend to cook faster than potatoes, and cooking times should be reduced accordingly. So, try them in chowders, au gratin, in soups, stews or breads, scalloped, or fried into latkes. They are also excellent substitutions for turnips and parsnips.

That said, keeping mind they do have a tendency to turn gray while cooking, but this unaesthetic discoloration can be resolved with the addition of a pinch of cream of tartar or some lemon juice.

Lemon actually goes very well with this root vegetable, as does anise, coriander, cumin, fennel, garlic, ginger, sage and tarragon. Sunchokes also play nice with bacon, salmon, most roasted meats, goat cheese, cream, hazelnuts and morels.