An experiment was conducted with 12 pigs of approximately 25 kg body weight. The animals were alloted to two experimantal groups where the energy source was either maize meal or raw, fresh tubers of Jerusalem artichoke ( Helianthus tuberosus L.). The pattern of feed intake was measured for 4 hours following the supply of the meal to the animals in the morning. It was observed that the time the animals spent eating was shorter (P≤0.05) with maize than with Jerusalem artichoke. The rate of eating was significantly different (P≤0.001) in pigs fed maize or Jerusalem artichoke on a fresh weight basis (23.7 or 43.8 g fresh feed/min) but was almost equal on a dry weight basis (21.7 or 18.7 g dry feed/min) and therefore feed intake in both fresh and dry bases was the same for both treatments (1178 or 1142 g DM/pig). We suggest that pigs modify their pattern of feed intake by increasing meal frequency when high amounts of Jerusalem artichoke are offered as raw, fresh tubers, thus tending to keep the level of energy consumption constant.