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Saturday, January 7, 2012

From The Garden To Your Table - Sunchokes

 

Sunchokes can grow up to 6 ft tall

Sunchoke Bulb
My friends at Loma Vista Farm shared some Sunchoke bulbs with me this year.  I put them in the front driveway bed just to see how they would do and to contain them.  They self-propagate easily and will take over whatever area you give them in a couple of seasons.Sunchokes are an easy plant to grow, giving your garden a tall, sunflower like display in the early fall.  They also produce a tasty bulb that is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Thiamin, Phosphorus and Potassium, and a very good source of Iron.

Jerusalem artichokes were first cultivated by the Native Americans long before the arrival of the Europeans; this extensive cultivation obscures the exact native range of the species.[1] The French explorer Samuel de Champlain found domestically grown plants at Cape Cod in 1605. The Jerusalem artichoke was titled 'best soup vegetable' in the 2002 Nice festival for the heritage of the French cuisine.

Wondering what to do with your excess jerusalem artichokes? Try pickling them.  The key here is to use small pieces, like 1/2 inch or smaller. If you try to pickle them larger the middle of them will be soft and icky, not crunchy.
Makes 3 quarts
  • 2-3 pounds sunchokes (choose small ones if possible)
  • Juice of 2-3 lemons
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/3 cup kosher or pickling salt
  • 3 tablespoons turmeric
  • 4 cups cider vinegar
  • 1 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1-2 cups sugar (depending on how sweet you want them)
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 tablespoon chile flakes or 1 dried chile per quart
  • 1 clove per quart
  • 1 bay leaf per quart
  1. Cut sunchokes into 1/2 inch pieces and put any cut pieces into a bowl of water with the lemon juice in it — they will discolor otherwise.
  2. When you have them all cut, mix the 4 cups water, 1 tablespoon of the turmeric and the 1/3 cup salt. This is your brine. Brine the sunchokes for a day.
  3. To make the pickling liquid, mix the vinegar, sugar, 1 cup water, the rest of the turneric, mustard seed, dry mustard, chiles, cloves and bay leaves (basically everything else) and bring to a boil. Stir well and let it cool to room temperature.
  4. Get your hot water bath ready if you plan to can these. Skip this if you plan on keeping the pickles in the fridge.
  5. Fish out a chile, clove and bay leaf and put one in each jar.
  6. Rinse the sunchokes well, then pack into jars. Cover with the cooled vinegar mixture. Make sure to leave at least 1/4 inch of headspace if you are canning.
  7. Process in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes.
  8. Wait at least a week before eating.

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