I just had to look them up... Jerusalem Artichokes are neither from Jerusalem, nor are they Artichokes... discuss! (With a nod to Coffee Talk, Mike Myers as Linda Richman and SNL.) The Jerusalem Artichoke, aka Sunchoke, Sunroot or Earth Apple, most likely got the Jerusalem part of its name from Girasole [gi-ra-só-le], the Italian word for Sunflower. The Artichoke part of the name, however probably comes from its similar taste to the not yet bloomed thistle we know as a Globe Artichoke. Too many people pass these tasty little morsels by in the produce department because of their appearance and a simple lack of experience with them. So unfair! They’re available during the winter months, when really decent Globe Artichokes are not in season, so any fan of the thistle variety can get their fix of the distinctive taste of an Artichoke throughout the year. They’re also a lot easier to prepare! Jerusalem Artichokes, like the Artichoke Heart, have a myriad of uses depending upon the cooking method applied. My favorite however is this simple oven roasting procedure that produces a sweet treat that’s a great side dish or a perfect finger food. This also looked like a good recipe.... http://aguywholovestocook.blogspot.com/2013/04/oven-caramelized-jerusalem-artichokes.html
We have actually not tasted one yet, @Chrissy Page . My former neighbor, @Joyce Mcgregor , gave us some tubers to plant. I had enough to put them along the front of the yard in one row, about a foot apart. Since my main plan was to have them grow and help be kind of a privacy screen, we didn't want to waste any of them by eating it. I am pretty sure that they also spread by the seeds that fell off of the flowers, since we have some patches where they came up really thick, and other places where there was just a few of them. They are said to taste like the water chestnuts that you find in some Chinese dishes, and I like those, so we will probably like the sunchokes, too. The information said not to dig them until after a frost , when you want them for eating, and that would probably be in November here in Alabama. We won't be tasting any for several months yet; but then I will let everyone know how the eating experience goes with the sunchoke tubers.
Thanks for the information @Chrissy Page I have always heard about Jerusalem Artichokes but I never knew what they were. They sound like different and unusual vegetables you can use. I love Chinese water chestnuts so I am sure I would love these vegetables too. I think they would be awesome.
All summer, the Jerusalem Artichokes slowly grow, and they do not blossom until into September. Now, they will bloom until we have frost and then they die. The first year, we just had a small row of the tubers that I had planted, and then last fall, they went to seed, and also, we didn't dig up any of the tubers. This year, we have enough of the plants that I will dig up some of them and use the tubers. The tubers are edible, and very healthy, so we will probably try eating some of them and see if we like them. From what I read, they can be eaten either raw or cooked, and are similar to a potato in flavor . We even had people picking the flowers a few days ago. Bobby was watching out the door, and then I heard him scolding someone that they should at least ask the property owner before they did that; so I went to see what was going on. A couple were walking down the street, and apparently, they decided to pick themselves a bouquet of the tiny sunflowers . I went out and talked to her, and told her that if she like them, to come back in another month and I will give her some seeds to plant. She thanked me, but never said a word about stealing the flowers. I guess that she thought that was an acceptable behavior. They are all down the front of the house by the road. My original plan was that they would be like a front border/hedge, but they spend all summer short and just get really tall in the fall.
I like those...is that the one we were talking about that would do well here? Just rembered that was dinosaur kale..right? Anyway, they make a pretty fence!! Also, is that yellow flower in your avatar from the bush?
The tubers you gave us are growing wonderfully @Yvonne Smith and now that I see how tall they will be we will probably use them against our privacy fencing later on.
The sunchokes should be perfect for your privacy fence, @Babs Hunt . I read that they can grow around 7-8 feet tall, but mine have never gotten that tall here. You have a longer growing season, so your very well could grow taller before fall hits and kill them off. All you have to do is wait until they look dead this fall, and then dig them up like you would a potato plant, and replant the tubers along the privacy fence area. Next spring they should come up all along the fence line, and then you just leave them be until they are as thick as you want them for privacy. I started out with about twice what I sent you, and planted them along the front of the house. The first year, they were pretty sparse, but then they made tubers and the next year they had started to thicken into a better patch.
I'm so thankful you sent them to us Yvonne. I think they will work perfect for the privacy screening too. And I'll get to see those yellow flowers that I love so much too.
I haven't grown the sunchokes for years, but if I remember correctly, they don't store well like regular potatoes. They are principally inulin, not starch, which is not well digested, but you can serve them in place of potatoes in many dishes. They were once recommended for diabetics, but I don't know if they still are. Good photos of them--decorative and edible, too!
Here's a picture of mine that I took yesterday @Yvonne Smith...they are really bright yellow flowers and I love that and the JA plants would make a great privacy screen if only they stayed green.
That was my thoughts when I planted my first ones, too, @Babs Hunt . I planted them along the front of the yard by the road so that they would give us more privacy in the front yard, but since they are short most of the summer, they really don’t help then. In the fall, they are tall, and all in bloom, but soon that will be gone and they will just be ugly brown stalks that need to be cut down.
Well I am just going to enjoy those pretty bright flowers while they last. Thanks again for sending us the tubers.
So over the years, the Jerusalem artichokes have multiplied and spread, and Bobby has to mow along the edge of the front yard where we had planted them. This year, I decided to just take them all out, so this morning’s project was pulling out 50-60 feet of Jerusalem artichokes, and cutting the ones that would not pull out. Then , we went to the dollar store and I bought a hedge shears, and used that to trim back all of the irises that are along the road. It looks a lot different, and better. Tomorrow, I will rake up what is on the ground and we will use it for compost. We still have some of the sun chokes, which are a type of sunflower that is perennial, in other parts of the yard, but hopefully, we won’t have that whole hedge of them out by the road. They look pretty and green for most of the summer, but do not blossom until in the fall, and by then, the leaves are turning brown and the whole plant looks awful except for the yellow flowers. The tubers are edible and healthy food; but we have never dug them up and tried eating any of them.
You should eat them, @Yvonne Smith . They have inulin instead of starch and are quite crunchy when raw.