what kind of root looks like a ginger root but taste like a potatoe

Question

a neighbor gave my mother a root that looks like a ginger root but she says it taste like a potatoe can be eaten raw or cooked she comes from ukrane

Answer 1

no we have not eaten it yet

Answer 2

Jerusalem artichoke! member of the sunflower family. It has edible tuburous roots that multiply quickly and are indeed edible. The plant can grow 6+ft, with multiple flowers similar to yellow daisies. Needs lot of space and hardy fast growing plants. Hard to get rid of once established. Each root tubor will grow a tall, bushy new plant. Can be eating raw sliced in salads or stirfried..Similar to starchy potatoes.

Answer 3

Sounds like a Jerusalem artichoke to me. The root is a light brown tuber with little knobs, and looking very much like ginger on the outside. The flesh, though, is quite potato-like.

The plant itself is a thick, tall, tough stalk that produces nasty burrs after flowering. I used to get them caught in my hair when I went to pull them up and get their yummy roots. If you pile the stalks up to dry when you're done with them, they make good kindling for a bonfire.

I used to have them lining the edge of my property in Vermont (they grew there like weeds, I mean to say). They were an early Spring, Northern climate delicacy in the wild. Edible weeds can be so yummy!

I would scrub them gently and just boil or steam until soft...less time than w/ potatoes, as I recall. I can't imagine a better way to eat them than with butter, salt and pepper. Delicious. I hope this is what you have in your yard.

Answer 4

Sam's had something like that 2 or 3 years ago, they called them finger potatoes.  I have not seen them since.  They were the color of regular potatoes and tasted the same.