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
September 24, 2013 at 11:04 am
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.
September 24, 2013 at 7:45 pm
I’ve never heard of them or seen them before, I also thought they were maggots or some sort of worm.
September 26, 2013 at 10:34 am
Me too!