This season we went a little nuts growing Sunchokes.They are the most interesting crop. We tried out two different varieties. I tried to find purple ones but they were more trouble to track down then they were worth. Besides they looked brown not purple and as you know Aby and I don’t do brown we specialize in purple. So for those of you who were wondering about Helianthus tuberosus also know as Sunchokes, or Jerusalem Artichokes, or Girasole, or Sunroots, or Earth Apples or Topinambours… or whatever you know them as. Essentially Sunchokes are the rhizomous roots of a plant in the sunflower family. They are native to North America and are good for you too! They have 650 mg potassium per 1 cup (150g) serving. They are also high in iron, and contain 10-12% of the US RDA of fiber, niacin, thiamine, phosphorus and copper.
So you take a cutting from the tuber and plant it in the ground. Up grows a sunflower stalk and eventually a small yellow, chocolate scented flower appears at the top. At this point you can start harvesting but your yield will be low. It’s best to let the stalks die back in the Fall and harvest the tubers over the winter and spring. The biggest problem is that if even the smallest piece of sunchoke is left in the ground then the plant will come back and spread. Each year that it is grown in the same spot the soil is depleted and the nutritive value decreases. So they really need to be moved from year to year.
We like to eat them grated fresh on a fresh garden salad. They also cook up really well with other root crops. So they are yummy, look beautiful in the garden, bees love them, they can be used as animal feed and are a nice starch free substitute for potatoes.
They really are the most interesting of the root fruits!