Call them Jerusalem artichoke, sunroot, sunchoke, earth apple, or topinambour, these native American tubers are a potentially popular survival food for the homesteader. When I first heard of them the grower was very enthusiastic about the yield, but a little apprehensive about the way the plants run – taking over a whole section of the garden.
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Sunchokes will (and do) grow wild in many parts of the USA, but are equally as good a food plant when cultivated. In fact, some say that for the most tasty tubers they should be dug and replanted in fertile soil every year.
I think this makes Jerusalem artichokes a prime candidate for container gardening. In this way you can easily harvest the entire crop, something you just can't do when digging them from garden soil. You can also control their running habit in a container.
Jerusalem Artichokes For Food
The edible part of this plant, which resembles a sunflower, it the root. A single plant will yield a nice crop of tubers, but it's not often you will have a single plant – they spread prolifically. Just by ordering a small batch of seed roots you'll have plenty to start your planting.
Sunchoke tubers make a meal that is not only good tasting, but has some real beneficial nutrients. It is said that some of the perks of eating them is that a one cup serving of sunchokes contains 643 mg of potassium, can decrease blood cholesterol, provides you with a quarter of your daily iron, and can contain more protein than most other root vegetables.
They are particularly high in the sulfur-containing essential amino acids taurine, methionine, homocysteine and cysteine. These sulfur-containing amino acids are essential for maintaining the flexibility of connective tissue as well as allowing the liver carry out detoxification.
The roots are usually washed and prepared like potatoes. They can be peeled, sliced, grated, boiled and eaten either fresh or cooked. As you may have guessed, they have a sweet, nutty taste that reminds you of and artichoke.
How Did Jerusalem Artichokes Get Their Name?
It is said that the name came about from girasole, the Italian word for sunflowers. English speakers turned that into “Jersualem,” and then added “artichoke” at the end because of the similarity of flavor. “Sunchoke,” too, was just invented by a farmer in the 1960s.
Crop yields are high, like 16 tons per acre for tubers. It's not likely that most of us would grow an acre of them, but it's safe to say that a small patch can provide plenty of food. Larger plantings make an excellent hog graze for winter food.
Have You Heard Jerusalem Artichokes Are “Gassy”?
Many people report problems with sunchokes making them gassy after eating them, or maybe even causing diarrhoea. I have not experienced this problem myself, but then I've been accused of having an iron stomach. But after some research I may know why this is sometimes the case.
The nutrition guides say that Jerusalem artichokes are high in FOS and inulin. To make this more understandable here's an explanation of what that means. Fructooligosaccharide, also known as FOS, is a simple carbohydrate and soluble fiber that occurs naturally in many healthy foods. It fertilizes beneficial bacteria in the right side of the colon. Inulin is a complex soluble fiber that reaches the distal or left descending portion of the colon.
ref: https://www.prebiotin.com/prebiotin-academy/what-are-prebiotics/ogliofructose-enriched-inulin/
It reminds me of why it's not a good idea to start grinding and eating wheat berries if you have never done so before. These carbs in their natural forms combined with ample fiber naturally cause gut problems if eaten in too large quantities without working your way into it.
Here's another explanation from somone more expert than I:
From cullyandsully.com:
If you haven’t eaten this vegetable since last year, prepare yourself for some unfortunate bowel events! The flatulence and sometimes diarrhoea that this vegetable causes is enough to make many veer clear of it! This is a real pity as they are so good for you.
The solution to the problem lies in introducing it to your diet gradually – rather than having a whole plate full one night for your dinner after not having it for a whole year! After the initial uncomfortable bowel disturbance, they will beneficially disturb you bowels, as they actually feed the very important good bacteria in you bowels!
The two most well known prebiotics are FOS and Inulin. These are plant fibres found in abundance in Jerusalem artichokes and chicory root, and in (approximate) descending order in leeks, onions, salsify, garlic, bananas, fruit, asparagus, oats, whole rye and whole wheat.
It is important that the foods are fresh, otherwise the inulin breaks down in the plant into sugars – the fresher the vegetable the higher the inulin content. Inulin is actually the plants equivalent of fat, they accumulate it when there is plenty of solar energy and use it as fuel when the skies are dark or overcast.
The acids (acetic and butyric acid) produced by the well-fed good bacteria inhibit the growth of bad bacteria. As a result the balance of bowel bacteria tips in a healthy direction. Prebiotics have other benefits too. They are antagonistic to some disease-producing bacteria such as salmonella, listeria and campylobacter, and the acids that the probiotics produce smooth out blood sugar levels, discourage the body from laying down fat and they stimulate the immune system.
Unfortunately there are downsides to everything! As previously mentioned, in some people they may cause flatulence, and if very large amounts are taken, diarrhoea. FOS is more likely to cause problems than inulin. If onion, leek or jerusalem artichoke soup causes bowel discomfort for you, you need to start eating these foods gradually.
ref: https://www.prebiotin.com/prebiotin-academy/what-are-prebiotics/ogliofructose-enriched-inulin/
Growing Jerusalem Artichokes
Since we are producing tubers for food it's a good idea to plant them during the winter and let them sprout as they like. As mentioned before, digging and cleaning your seed roots and then re-planting them in fertilized soil will produce the best food.
However there are many stories about digging roots that have been left unattended for a decade. Since they are a a natural plant to the USA, they can be foraged like any other wild plant.
Let the plant grow with ample water and full sun through the growing season and dig roots in the fall or winter. The roots will stand freezing well. I think this plant is perfect for container gardening for two reasons:
- You can contain the patch so as not to intrude on other plants
- It gives you an easy way to harvest, just dump the container and sift them out
Jerusalem artichoke roots do not store well. You should use them when you dig them, and if you are keeping seed you should re-plant the tubers really soon in fresh fertile growing mix.
I'll be growing a test patch of Jerusalem artichokes this year and recording the whole affair, complete with ways to use and eat them. Keep in touch and I'll keep you posted.
