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Jerusalem Artichoke
Mon, 01/07/2008 - 21:21 — DawnBlackBotanical Name:
Helianthus tuberosus
Zones:
hardy to zone 4
Other Names:
sunroot, sunchoke, topinambur, canada potato, earth apple, girasole, tuberous sunflower, lambchoke
Native to eastern North America. Grown for its tubor, root vegetable.
Propagation:
Jerusalem artichokes are very hardy, vigorous growers. Tubors, or chunks of tubors can be planted in spring or autumn in fertile soil in a sunny spot or dappled shade and they will grow like weeds. Mine are planted in a row with part of the row in mostly shade and the other in in part sun. The ones in the shade are considerably shorter than the ones in the sun, but they are all taller than I am and I have to stand on tiptoe to reach the flowers in the part sun plants.
Don't worry if they take awhile to sprout in the spring. They generally make their first appearance in late spring to early summer and look like little baby sunflowers. They should be heavily mulched every autumn. Lack of proper fertilization will result in loss of flavor. That being said, the plants themselves are not picky and will grow in just about any soil. They do not like to grow in places where there aren't significantly defined seasons, however.
Don't be afraid to harvest the first year as each plant produces about 75 tubers. Wait till after the first frost to begin harvesting. If you are going to grow sunchokes, make sure to harvest every year to prevent them from going crazy. Don't worry, it's almost impossible to dig up every tuber, even when you want to. Seeds ripen in November. Best not to let the plant reseed itself (although the birds and squirrels like them). It will spread just fine by tubers, you don't want it in the neighbor's yard too!
Sunchokes don't play nice with other plants. They aren't bothered by weeds and will smother out bedmates. This year I planted sunflowers with them and they seemed to do well as they were in full bloom before the sunchokes were even thinking about blooming and it was a nice affect. Then the squirrels mowed down the sunflowers and that was the end of that. (The Japanese Beetles like the sunchokes but not enough to cause any serious damage) Next year I am thinking of planting more sunflowers and maybe some beans with them so the beans can climb the Sunchokes and sunflowers, though I have been warned against this because all three are susceptable to the same Sclerotina or white mold disease.
Be careful! These plants can be highly invasive. In fact, it is listed as a noxious weed in Minnesota.
Baby sunchokes are susceptable to slug damage.
Plants can also be started from seeds but will be very delicate their first year. They take up to 17 days to sprout.
History and Folklore:
Jerusalem Artichoke is a native to North America (not Jerusalem) and is not an artichoke (artichokes are members of the thistle family, Sunchokes are members of the sunflower family). Early settlers first called the plant girasole, the Italian word for sunflower. Apparently this word sounds like Jerusalem. It may also have occasionally been specified as the articiocco (edible) girasole, which sounds similar to artichoke.
The flavor of the root is said to be similar to the flavor of artichokes. But I think it's closer to a water chestnut.
This plant was first cultivated by Native Americans who called it Sun Root. It has been propegated for over 500 years. It was "discovered" by Champlain at Cape Cod in 1605 where it was grown by the natives there along with beans and maize. Lewis and Clark were also fed Sunchokes by Native Americans during their trek across the US.
Today this plant is grown in the US for human food, livestock fodder (it is especially loved by pigs), alcohol production and as a source of fructose.
Harvesting & Storage:
Roots can be dug in the autumn after the plant dies back. For best flavor, wait until after you get a good hard frost before digging up the roots. Store them in a cool place that isn't too dry. Wrapped in plastic in the fridge will do nicely. They will get bitter if kept too long in storage. It is best to leave them in the ground and dig them up as you need them. You can continue digging them right into early spring.
Household Use:
The flowers are pretty and the seeds will attract birds and squirrels and can be used in crafts.
Magical Attributes:
Like all Helianthus flowers, this one is sacred to Helios, the Roman Apollo, Ra and other sun Gods.
Healing Attributes:
Because it stores its sugar as inulin, which converts to fructose, which is safe for diabetics, Sunchoke is recommended as a potato substitute for diabetics. It does not cause sugar spikes like starch does (in potatoesi) and, according to some herbalists (of the Edgar Cayce school) has a healing effect on the pancreas.
A flour can be made of roasted sunchokes and this is recommended for use by people who are allergic to grains.
The tuber's high potassium content needs to be taken into account, however, especially by those with kidney disorders. It has six times the potassium of a bananai.
Sunchoke is also said to encourage the growth of natural probiotics, or helpful bacteria, in the gut. This is helpful for people with problems with candida or yeast overgrowth.
It is recommended that sunchokes be added to the diet slowly to allow the body to get used to it. There is also the occassional inulin allergy to watch out for.
Culinary Use:
Jerusalem artichokes are high in potassium, iron, fiber, niacin, thiamine, phosphorus and copper. Scrub and cut them immediately prior to eating them, as they brown quickly. Do not peel them as most of their nutrients are stored close to the skin.
The tubers can be prepared like potatoesi, but tend to get overly mushy when boiled. They are best very lightly steamed or stir fried and some people enjoy them raw in salads. They are crisp and sweet if they've been subjected to cold.
Starch is stored in Sunchoke tubers as inulin which is not easily digestable by humans, so it is a good food for diabetics and dieters who can tolerate it. Some folks have a hard time digesting it and in these folks it can cause gas and bloating. I am told that if you starti out with small amounts and get your body used to it, it'll learn to digest it.
Sunchokes have been used in France for wine and beer production.
Practical Kitchen Witchery:
Notes: I cooked my first Jerusalem Artichokes last night. These are the babies I planted last spring. I don't want to eat too many now because I want them to establish, so I only made a few. For science. I scrubbed them (didn't peel them) sliced them thin and sauted them for about 10 minutes in olive oil.
Oh my goodness.
Are they good.
They do taste a bit like artichokes- not like those pickled artichoke hearts you get on your pizza, but like properly steamed artichokes. The kind you pick out one petal at a time and dip in butter and scrape the meat off with your teeth and marvel allowed that we go through so much trouble for so little food just cause it tastes so good. Those. And these jerusalem artichokes taste buttery and rich and warm. It sort of reminded me of back in the day when I wasn't a vegetarian and I used to fry my potatoesi in bacon grease. Yum. Oh, and ah.. they seem to have digested fine too.