The most quotation below (John Goodyer, 1621) sums up much of the folklore surrounding Jerusalem artichokes:

The thing is that Jerusalem artichokes have a pleasant, sweet and nutty taste but for some people that comes at a cost - wind! The good news is that most of us are not affected to any great degree.

The name, Jerusalem artichoke is very misleading because the plants are not artichokes and have nothing to do with Jerusalem. The " artichoke" part of the name was given when Samuel de Champlain first sent the tubers to France from North America. He described their taste as being like artichokes and that name has stuck. The Jerusalem part comes from a mispronunciation of Girasole (Italian for sunflower). Jerusalem artichokes are really sunflowers with tuberous, edible roots.

Sunchokes have approximately six times the potassium content of a banana, so beware if you have kidney problems of any kind.

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