M'Intosh says that the tubers may be used in every way as the potato; and are suited to persons in delicate health, when debarred from the use of most other vegetables.
Varieties.—For a long period, there was but a single variety cultivated, or even known. Recent experiments in the use of seeds as a means of propagation have developed new kinds, varying greatly in their size, form, and color, possessing little of the watery and insipid character of the heretofore grown Jerusalem Artichoke, and nearly or quite equalling the potato in flavor and excellence.
Common White.
Tubers large, and often irregular in form; skin and flesh white; quality watery, and somewhat insipid. It is unfit for boiling, but is sometimes served baked or roasted. It makes a very crisp and well-flavored pickle.
Purple-Skinned.
A French variety, produced from seed. Tubers purplish rose-color; flesh dryer when cooked, and finer flavored, than that of the foregoing.
Red-Skinned.
Like the Purple-skinned, produced from seed. Skin red. Between this and the last named there are various intermediate sorts, differing in shades of color, as well as in size, form, and quality.
Yellow-Skinned. Law.
The tubers of this variety are of a yellowish color, and are generally smaller, and even more irregularly shaped, than those of the Common White. They are, however, superior in quality, and of a more agreeable taste when cooked.