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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] What is a Sunchoke?
  • Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:26:02 -0600

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-sunchoke.htm


What is a Sunchoke?

A sunchoke is an underground vegetable like a cross between a rutabaga,
potato, sunflower seed, and water chestnut. Also called a Jerusalem
artichoke, it is not like an artichoke bloom, nor does it grow in Jerusalem.
It's one of the few native tubers of North America. A sunchoke, related to
the sunflower, makes a delicious addition to salad, salsa, marinade, and soup.

Native Americans enjoyed digging up and eating sunchokes for centuries before
the colonialists settled. Myths about the dangers of this starchy tuber kept
Europeans for cultivating them until the threat was proved superstitious and
they embraced the tasty vegetable. The sunchoke got its new name when a
French explorer sent some plants back to his friend in Italy to cultivate in
the Mediterranean climate. Thinking they tasted like artichokes, the Italian
named the tuber "girasole articicco," meaning, "sunflower artichoke."
Americans corrupted the pronunciation, which they thought sounded more like
"Jerusalem," but the name stuck.

The actual plant, Helianthus tuberosus, looks like a miniature sunflower
related to asters, with bright yellow flowers. They're so easy to grow
throughout North America that many gardeners consider them invasive weeds,
like black-eyed Susan's. During spring, before the plant has blossomed, you
harvest the sunchokes by digging up the white, bulbous root growths. The
plant stores inulin (not insulin) as starch for extra energy during winter
months in its tubers. What makes the sunchoke useful, for diabetics in
particular, is that the inulin it contains breaks down into fructose instead
of glucose during digestion. For diabetics, this makes the sunchoke a good
substitute for other starchy foods such as potatoes. If you're choosing a
sunchoke at the grocer's, find ones that are moist and smooth, not dry or
wrinkled. Treat them like you would ginger root. They'll keep, refrigerated,
for about a week.

Many recipes that don't specifically call for a sunchoke would benefit from
their crisp texture and nutty flavor. When you would have considered using
jicama, water chestnuts, or almonds, try substituting the tuber. Their taste
falls somewhere between an artichoke heart and a sunflower seed. Fresh, chop
them into salads, dips, salsa, chutney, or light marinades. Cooked, mix them
in with soups, grilled poultry or fish, or sauces. Pieces of sunchoke can
even be deep fried for a picnic treat.




  • [Livingontheland] What is a Sunchoke?, Tradingpost, 08/21/2008

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