Crones (Stachys Affinis)
At last Sunday’s Avondale Market, I encountered a vegetable that I had not seen or heard of before: named after the French town of Crosne (near Paris – both with a silent ‘s’), where, apparently, they were first cultivated after their introduction from Asia (in 1882). Other names are Chinese artichoke, chorogi, knotroot and artichoke betony; taste appears to be similar to Jerusalem artichoke. These examples were grown in West Auckland, I was told by Matthew the stallholder.
Let me know of your culinary experiences and recipes/tips for this root vegetable. At $50 per kg (at least half of that probably going into the washing of the tubers), they better be good.
Some further reading here and here.
Matthew and Crosnes
I’m glad I kept reading because, at first glance, I was sure they were maggots !! I’ve never heard of these. Thanks for the post.
I’ve never heard of them or seen them before, I also thought they were maggots or some sort of worm.
Me too!