Jerusalem Fartichokes Revisited
Nov 17th, 2008 | By Hank | Category: The Garden | Comments | 10 Comments |
Yes, it’s that time again — time for Hank’s favorite tuber, the Jerusalem artichoke! Or, as I like to call them, “fartichokes” for the explosive gas most people get when eating this earthy little nuggets.
This year’s crop is entirely unwanted. Sunchokes, as they are also known, are invasive and indigenous to North America, so you need to work hard to eradicate them once planted. These you see above are volunteers that grew along the side of my house that were never watered. Not once. And do I need to remind everyone we’re in a drought? Tough little buggers.
Don’t get me wrong. I like the taste of sunchokes, probably too much. They are crunchy and a little sweet when raw — a little like a water chestnut or jicama. They make a nice salad when paired with Fuyu persimmons. Sunchokes cook up like potatoes, although they go to mush faster, and make a great puree. You can also slice them thin and fry them like potato chips – these taste great. But oh, the farts!
Eating sunchokes is like swallowing a tornado: The whirlwind wants to escape, and when it does it rips through you with a roar. You can’t stop it — you can only hope to contain it. Inulin is the culprit. Most people cannot digest it properly, and alas, I am, in this case at least, most people.
There is a solution, however. I have found one way to prepare sunchokes that doesn’t leave me windy: Pickle them. Yes, Jerusalem artichoke pickles are the way to go. They’re crunchy, sweet-and-sour, a little spicy, and best of all, you only eat a few at a time so no one suffers any ill effects!
My recipe for sunchoke pickles uses a lot of turmeric for color — I like the yellow nuggets — as well as sugar and white wine vinegar. You could alter the flavors to suit you.
The key here is size. Use small tubers, or slice larger ones into pieces no larger than 1/2 inch across. You want nuggets, not chunks. This will make sure you have sunchokes that are crunchy all the way through. Larger ones get punky and soft in the middle.
If you want to properly can these, give them a 15-minute hot water bath. If not, keep them in the fridge. Canned they will last a year; dunno about the fridge. Either way, leave them for 3 weeks before eating.
That’s what I do with tornado tubers. What do you do?
You’re funny, Hank. I never had one. Not sure if I want to try them now
Like I NEED help!!
I’ve seen Jerusalem artichokes at the farmers’ market. I can’t decide if your post makes me more or less likely to try them.
I am still giggling – what a funny blog! Those Jerusalem artichokes don’t look like any artichoke I have ever seen! They look more like ginger to me. The comments are funny too! Thanks for brightening my night!
Moderation is the key, folks.
It was the chips that did us in at the Hunter Angler Gardener Cook household. They were so good that we ate them like … chips. And then regretted it all night long.
The pickled ones are definitely worth trying. But if you like learning everything the hard way, go ahead and prepare a sunchoke feast some night when you’re all alone and you, too, can test the limits of your tolerance…
it’s my first year growing sunchokes – and yes I had heard about the audible side effects. I also did not realized how pretty the flowers are.
Have not tried them yet – saving them for when we have less fresh things to eat. Thanks for pickle suggestion.
Sylvie
I tried to grow some this year- they were gifts from a friend who was fighting them off- and the deer ate every plant down to the ground. They don’t appear to be afflicted with explosive flatulence.
I like to grate them fine, mix them 50/50 with grated carrots plus a little flour, and fry them into little frittery things. They also make good gnocchi.
what do we do with ours? throw them out.
we’ve noticed the same effect with cashews, is it the same chemical? cashews create the most noxious SBD’s I’ve ever encountered. Even our dog leaves the room.
[...] And should sunchokes cause you the bloat or something equally unappealing, consider pickling like Hank [...]
Hank,
I love your site which I found by accident. JA’s have invaded my vegetable patch but the BEST way to cook them is to make a simple JA soup with chicken stock. It is so velvety and if you use less stock, a puree of JA is a perfect accompaniment to roast game of any kind. I live in Somerset in SW England and we are lucky here to have an abundance of game and fish so your site is very appropriate to my lifestyle. Keep it up and Happy New Year.
Chris aka Dinger