Jerusalem Artichokes

I wasn't planning on growing these again but a couple of tubers left in the ground decided otherwise! I harvested a wheelbarrowful today. They've a lovely flavour but an unfortunate, well-known side-effect. I was wondering whether someone, anyone, @NigelJ could tell me why they do what they do, and whether there is any way of mitigating their ozone-layer-destroying properties?

 

Yeah, dont eat them.
Should have been left in Jerusalem as far as I'm concerned.

 

I think the ozone layer destroying properties being described are due to the main energy storage molecule in Jerusalem artichoke being a type of starch called inulin. We have enzymes to break down more standard starch but in the human digestive tract it often remains not broken down until it reaches our lower gut where bacteria have the enzymes to get energy from the inulin and at the same time produce gas in our bowel. I have read that long cooking time helps to break down the inulin to some way reduce the amount that remains in the tubers to break down in our gut and usually just have them myself as part of a mixture of roast vegetables when something is going in the oven for a good amount of time.

I think when they are a smaller part of a mixture of food the effects are not really noticeable but I think there is some amount of just getting used to them as well. Maybe the bacteria in the gut get more accustomed to breaking down the inulin without generating as much free gas. There is also inulin in some other foods like garlic and onions and I think we would be more careful with these to only eat a small proportion in one go and the same principal of only having a small amount at a time as a portion of a larger meal works with the Jerusalem artichoke from my experience with them anyway. This inulin is a soluble fibre that feeds beneficial bacteria so also has a positive effect on our gut health and our overall health so I make a point to eat them regularly when they are in season. Some of my plants have better flowers than usual this year maybe because of the milder weather recently.
Happy gardening!

 

Well, @Macraignil! Thank you so much for the explanation Thanks, all I was thinking in terms of soup and roasting too, so I'll report back
'S alright for you, @pete......as you don't share the house. But the look of reproach on the cats' faces is humiliating

 

It turned out not to be a problem, as they didn't keep at all well once dug up. I used some in a mixed-roast-veg dish and made some soup to freeze, but mainly, they shrivelled up, so got trundled back down to the compost heap

 

The ones I grow tend to be fairly thin skinned so dry out fast as well. The best way to store them I find is just leaving them in the ground until I want to use them. If they are just a bit shriveled you will need to keep an eye on your compost heap in the spring when the weather warms up as they can still be viable to start growing again so your compost area may become another crop of Jerusalem artichoke.

Happy gardening!

 

No way will I be putting anything remotely viable on the heap! This year's plants came from just 4 tiny tubers missed in the last bid to get rid of them altogether 10m x 2m later.......
The carrots and parsnips do keep much better in the ground too, but sadly it's impossible to get them out of the ground once it's wet and claggy. It's frustrating....the parsnips were 70-80cm beauties but short of a stick of dynamite, there's no way to exhume them

 

Apologies for reviving an old thread, just have a couple of questions.

Never had these before and roasted them in their skins recently, they were delicious and didn't seem to give me gas! Can they be grown from tubers purchased from the supermarket? I'm a bit confused about whether there are two different edible species, the ones in Sainsbury's are long and plain but the ones I bought from Waitrose look much knobblier and similar to ginger. Or are they simply different varieties?

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-jerusalem-artichokes-350g-167512-p-44

Waitrose & Partners

Thanks,

Nick

 

Hi Nick, I think that the old, original species was small, knobbly and very fiddly to peel so the breeders got to work to produce larger, smoother tubers. This is what's available here....TUBERCULES DIVERS » TOPINAMBOUR - Graines Baumaux
The supermarket tubers should grow OK unless they've been treated to ensure a longer shelf-life. Who knows what goes on with our food these days?

 

Hi @Nikolaos I have grown JAs from SM and market bought tubers before. In fact I have 4 ready to plant out when it warms up a bit in a day or two. They've been sitting in my veg box for 10 days so I now have them soaking in cold water to rehydrate them before I plant them.

I try and buy the smoother tubers as they're easier to clean and prep and will, I hope, pass on those genes. I use them in soups, traybakes and a JA version of gratin dauphinois, normally done with potatoes. Much more interesting!

 

I believe they should grow fine from the tubers bought in the supermarket. They should start to produce shoots once the ground warms up and you could plant them straight away if you don't have room in the fridge to keep them until spring. Buried in cold soil is a good way to keep the tubers from drying out. The variety I have is called fuseau and was bought from a garden centre as a tuber looking similar to the ones advertised in the supermarket website. I think there are lots of varieties with some being easier to use in the kitchen than others and from what I have read the fuseau variety is one of the best for being thin skinned and easy to prepare. There might be some slug damage to the young shoots so it is a good idea to keep the area around where they will shoot up free form slug hiding places as shown in this video I posted a few years back.

Happy gardening!

 

There are different varieties of Jerusalem Artichokes, some smooth, some knobbly. I used to have a lovely smooth one but they spread so much I got rid of them. I used to cook them in their skins and pop them out before serving. Much easier than peeling etc. Delicious soup.