Jerusalem Artichokes
This morning’s article was on Jerusalem artichokes, my choice of a new plant to try in my vegetable garden this year. There was an error in the article: Jerusalem artichokes don’t grow to a height of 6-10 inches; it’s 6-10 feet.
Jerusalem artichokes are a good example of a useful vegetable that doesn’t receive much exposure in this country because it doesn’t keep, and, therefore, travel well. You can’t buy it in grocery stores, and need to seek it out in farmer’s markets and farmstands.
As I was doing research for this article, I came across the nutritional analysis for this vegetable. As I wrote in my article, Jerusalem artichokes are starch-free, so they are often recommended for diabetic and the carb-conscious, instead of potatoes.
But, beyond this fact, these tubers are nutritional powerhouses. They are one of the few veggies that supplies pantothenic acid, which is one of the B vitamins. In addition, a single tuber yields:
- 200 units of vitamin A
- .075 miligrams of vitamin B1
- .015 milligrams of vitamin B2
- 10 milligrams of Vitamin C
- 20 milligrams of calcium
- 47 milligrams of phosphorus
- .4 milligrams of iron
- 1 gram of protein
and delivers all of this with only 32 calories. Perhaps it’s time to get to know Jerusalem artichokes!
BTW, there are tons of recipes online if you’re trying to figure out new ways to cook your tubers. If you know someone with plants, ask for tubers of your own and I’m sure they’d be happy to share. Just be sure to read the article to see how to keep them from becoming an invasive pest.
November 17, 2012 - 6:42 AM
As a child in Kentucky my grandparents raised these in their garden and just called them “artichokes”. I liked to eat them raw from the garden.
As an adult I could never find them in grocery stores or fruit stands. And what they called artichokes didn’t fit my childhood memories.
Last spring I found them in a seed catalog and bought six tubers. The stalks grew to 12 feet high and the flowers were very pretty. I will start digging them soon and I am anxious to see if the taste like when a kid.
My Mom fed us kids Jerusalem artichokes. I enjoyed the sweet nutty flavor but did not eat them as an adult until I spent time in Europe where they are called topinambour.
The story I heard about this alternate name is that they were introduced in Europe around the time when an Amazonian tribe so named was a popular exhibition across Europe and therefore the tubers acquired the same aura of exoticism from the New World boosting sales in the produce markets. I always wondered what Europeans ate before potatoes arrived but Jerusalem artichokes were introduced at the same time if not after potatoes came to the continent.
A patch of Jerusalem artichokes came along with my house purchase in Blacksburg. I completely neglect the patch but get some nice flowers and a good meal’s worth of harvest every autumn.
KH, I just got around to reading your piece in the paper. One thing caught my eye. There was mention made of using them in place of water chesnuts. I use a bunch of water chesnuts during warmer weather, salads, stir fry, etc. How would you rate them as a sub for the chesnuts? I posted I would cross them off my eat list, but might rethink that statement depending on your answer. Also, can they be dug in the spring?, summer?
They are similiar to water chestnuts when raw – same type of crunch and texture. You can’t dig them in summer; probably could in very early spring, but I can confirm that once I go through my first spring with them this year. They are supposed to taste best – and negate that side effect that took them off your eating list – if you wait to use them until after a couple of hard frosts.