Get to Know Sunchokes, a.k.a. Jerusalem Artichokes (2024)
The first thing most people learn about the bulbous root vegetable* sometimes known as "Jerusalem artichoke" is the misleading nature of the name. The second thing people learn, if there is a second thing, is that it makes you fart. Let's be rebels and set aside those topics for just a moment, so we can focus on the vegetable itself.
*For the avoidance of doubt/harassment by horticulture buffs, it's a root vegetable, which is the term we apply to a broad category of edible underground plant parts, but it is not a root. If you find this upsetting, you should try figuring out what a "berry" is sometime.
A sunchoke is a woody-looking tuberous formation found on the rhizome (horizontally growing underground stem) of a type of sunflower. Its rough pale-brown skin makes it somewhat akin to fresh ginger in appearance, but you're more likely to see it broken up into individual pieces at the market, rather than in a single intact piece with branching fingers, like ginger. The interior of the sunchoke is creamy white instead of yellow.
Also unlike ginger, its flavor is mild, similar to that of a potato or jicama, but nuttier and sweeter. It reminds me of the slightly bark-y taste of raw, unskinned hazelnuts, which I've adored since I was a kid. Just me? It's like wood shavings, but good.
Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer of North America, compared the flavor to that of an artichoke—hence part two of the erroneous name, although it does share a botanical family with artichokes. Where the "Jerusalem" part came from is less clear, but most people think it's a corruption of girasole (pronounced "jeer-uh-SOLE-ay"), the Italian word for "sunflower." A New World plant, cultivated on the North American continent for thousands of years before Europeans arrived, it certainly has nothing to do with Jerusalem.
Sunchokes' peak season is during the fall and spring. When shopping, seek out firm 'chokes with a light-brown color, free of soft spots that indicate damage. They're more fragile than their rugged look would have you believe, so store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, wrapped in paper towels to absorb moisture, and try to use them within seven to 10 days.
Scrub them well under running water before using, since all those little eyes and ridges can harbor lots of dirt. You can peel them after washing if you like, but their nubby, irregular surface makes it a thankless job, and the peel is edible.
Sunchokes work nicely in many of the same applications we typically assign to potatoes or carrots. Try cutting them into finger-sized pieces, blanching them for a few minutes in a pot of boiling salted water, then roasting them in a 450°F (230°C) oven until they're soft and creamy inside and crisp outside. Or slice them thinly on a mandoline and fry them in 300°F (150°C) canola oil to make sweet, crunchy sunchips. Daniel uses both roasted and thinly sliced raw sunchokes alongside a rainbow of potatoes and brassicas in this bounteous fall salad.
Thanks to their starchy texture, mashed or puréed sunchokes make a more flavorful alternative to traditional mashed potatoes. If you're into the velvety texture of a sunchoke purée, try taking it a step further by browning them in butter and blending them up with leek and sage for Kenji's Brown Butter–Sunchoke Soup. And in the attached recipe, Sho uses a cast iron skillet to squash his 'chokes until they're all over cracks and crevices, à la Kenji's smashed potatoes, then browns them in oil and thyme butter in a hot pan. They're also surprisingly great for pickling, either peeled or unpeeled.
Oh, right: the farting. There's a reason sunchokes have attracted the charming sobriquet of "fartichoke," and it's called inulin—a carbohydrate that our bodies can't digest, leaving bacteria to pick up the slack and resulting in some pretty antisocial gut activity, including abdominal cramping, gas, and diarrhea. But inulin content varies from specimen to specimen, it's found in lots of other foods as well, and some people don't notice any symptoms at all. Your best bet, especially if you're new to sunchokes, is to take it slowly, and perhaps reserve them for a solo meal—all the better, really, since you'll have them all to yourself that way.
Sunchokes are also called “Jerusalem artichokes,” but look nothing like artichokes and have no apparent ties to Jerusalem. The name is associated with early-world Italian explorers who thought they tasted similarly to artichokes and looked like girasole (“jeer-uh-SOLE-ay”) or “sunflower” in Italian.
Sunchokes are root tubers that are a member of the sunflower family. While also known as Jerusalem artichokes, sunchokes are not part of the artichoke family. Sunchokes have bumpy, brown skin and crisp, white flesh. Although sunchokes' skins are edible, they're typically peeled before they're prepared.
Jerusalem artichoke is generally considered safe to eat. 17 However, for some people, its high inulin content can cause digestive discomfort (the vegetable has a reputation for causing a lot of gas).
The vegetable is made of a carbohydrate called inulin, he explained, instead of the tuber's typical starch, and inulin has an Ex-Lax-like effect on the human digestive system—we can't digest it naturally, so our gut bacteria go to town. He added that it makes his stomach rumble.
Sunchoke is actually a tuber that looks like ginger root, has a potato like texture and is highly recommended as a potato substitute for diabetics. Because of the high inulin content, sunchoke has a very low glycemic index. The glycemic index, simply stated, is the rate at which your body converts food to sugar.
They contain as much iron as a 3-oz cut of meat, with no fat and very few calories, making them a great addition to any weight management diet plan or vegetarian diet.
Sometimes jokingly referred to as "fartichokes," Jerusalem artichokes have a reputation for occasionally causing excessive gas, bloating, and sometimes even diarrhea for certain people. That is because this root vegetable is high in inulin, an indigestible fiber and prebiotic, which can cause digestive trouble in some.
Modern science concurs: “Boiling Jerusalem artichokes in an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar will hydrolyze the inulin to fructose and small amounts of glucose,” Rastall advises. So I gave it a try, boiling quarter-inch-thick sunchoke slices for 15 minutes in just enough lemon juice to cover them.
The bad thing about sunchokes? They contain inulin, which – when consumed raw – can lead to serious gas and bloating. As such, they've been unofficially titled “fartichokes”. While inulin sensitivity varies from person to person, it's best to avoid eating sunchokes raw altogether.
These results suggest that heliangin derived from Jerusalem artichoke leaves could play a role in the prevention of inflammatory in macrophage and VECs, which might help to prevent atherosclerosis.
You don't need to peel them before cooking them, though you can if you like (this skin is papery and thin). Once washed, cut them into thick slices or chunks and prepare them the same way you would potatoes. Sunchokes can be substituted in any recipe calling for potatoes.
But be sure to enjoy inulin in moderation and up your intake gradually, as too much can lead to abdominal pain and constipation. Sunchokes are a great source of prebiotics, too. Prebiotics are an indigestible type of fiber that helps feed the good bacteria in your gut.
Some of the crops that are most culturally and historically important to our area, such as Candy Roaster squash and sunchokes, have been cultivated by Native Americans for centuries.
The flowering part of the plant resembles a bright yellow sunflower. You eat the root or tuber, which has thin, papery skin and a white, creamy interior. Sunchokes are also called “Jerusalem artichokes,” but look nothing like artichokes and have no apparent ties to Jerusalem.
Once clean, Jerusalem artichokes can be roasted, boiled or steamed. I prefer steaming, as they tend to retain their texture, and from there you can roast them, puree them or — a popular choice — make them into a delicious soup.
Sunchokes (Helianthus tuberosus), the vegetable formerly known as “Jerusalem artichokes,” are the tuberous roots of a native North American plant in the sunflower family.
Introduction: My name is Eusebia Nader, I am a encouraging, brainy, lively, nice, famous, healthy, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__2019__06__20190529-smashed-sunchokes-vicky-wasik-2-1500x1125-d4472b1a411d400e825f1071bec12035.jpg "Get to Know Sunchokes, a.k.a. Jerusalem Artichokes (1)")
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__2019__06__20190529-smashed-sunchokes-vicky-wasik-8-1500x1125-06077c38080943fbbab397204ffb4148.jpg "Get to Know Sunchokes, a.k.a. Jerusalem Artichokes (2)")
