Kangiofoles or Topinambur
The kangiofoles, otherwise known as topinambur, refers to the Jerusalem artichoke, and the paradox is that it is neither an artichoke nor has anything to do with Jerusalem. So what’s going on?
Topinambur is called kankiofoles in Corfu and kolokasoudi in Cyprus but its official name is Helianthus tuberosus and, in in English, sunroot, sunchoke. Helianthus root is edible, has beneficial properties for the body and its characteristic is that its taste is a fusion between an artichoke heart and the best potato you have ever had.
The combination with the Latin name of the sunflower which is girosole but which people misunderstood as Jerosol (Jerusalem), led to a linguistic misinterpretation so that the sunflower bulb is called artichoke because of the similar taste, in addition to ‘Jerusalem’ from girosol.
Kangiofoles can be cooked in the same way you would cook any other root. They can be steamed, boiled, baked, fried, grilled, and can also be eaten raw or grated or finely sliced in a salad.
