Seasonality
In the U.S., sunchokes are in season from late fall through early spring.
Eating Sunchokes
Storing
Sunchokes will keep in the produce drawer of the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks, sometimes even longer.
Cooking
The sweet-nutty-crunchy qualities of sunchokes can be put to good use in an amazing number of ways. They are even delicious raw — shaved thinly as inthis salad, with a drizzle of olive oil and a blanket of Parmigiano-Reggiano. For eating sunchokes raw, you can leave the skin on, but for cooked preparations you may consider removing the skin with a swivel-blade peeler or paring knife (the skin tends to toughen when cooked). Raw sunchokes also make nice toss-ins to salads, and are crunchy enough to be made intoslaw. They can be sliced androasted like potatoes,sautéedor made into a deliciousgratin. The French are famous for acreamy sunchoke soup, but the tuber is also good simply pureed (peel first) and mixed with cream and butter, like mashed potatoes.
Sunchokes oxidize when exposed to air, just like apples or potatoes. To prevent this, toss with lemon juice before cooking. There are a bunch of other fascinating tips for preparing sunchokeshere, including a pointer about preventing sunchokes from turning gray when pureed or made into soup (their high iron content causes this to happen): add a pinch of cream of tartar or an acidic liquid (like lemon juice) to the sunchoke cooking water.
Preserving
Sunchokes can be pickled —this recipewith turmeric and mustard seeds looks especially delicious.
Nutrition
Sunchokes are a great source of iron, potassium and thiamin. They are also low in calories and high in fiber. Inulin, the primary carbohydrate in sunchokes, minimally affects blood sugar and is touted as a diabetic-friendly carb.
