{"id":6335,"date":"2022-02-10T20:11:50","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T19:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labrugueradepubol.com\/?p=6335"},"modified":"2022-02-15T18:16:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-15T17:16:08","slug":"using-bruguera-jerusalem-artichokes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/labrugueradepubol.com\/using-bruguera-jerusalem-artichokes\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Bruguera Jerusalem Artichokes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using Bruguera Jerusalem Artichokes<\/b><\/p>\n

By Mike Duff<\/span><\/p>\n

This time of year means we are swimming in Jerusalem Artichokes (<\/span>Helianthus Tuberosus<\/span><\/i>) – yum!\u00a0 Lots of people don\u2019t know this humble, super easy-to-grow tuber, native to North America but brought over to Europe ages ago (like me), and it is so versatile and delicious, so we thought we would share a bit of love for it here on the blog today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why they are cool<\/b><\/p>\n

Flowers<\/b><\/p>\n

The flowers! They produce these massive yellow flowers, that look akin to sunflowers (they are in the same family!), and also sit atop great tall stems like those lovely flowers that make us think of the Tour-de-France. So beautiful! In the picture below, they are the burst of yellow at the back of the pond, on the left.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Easy to grow<\/b><\/p>\n

Sooooo easy – get ahold of one, throw it in a little hole in the ground, and come back three quarters of a year later to harvest loads of them, after having appreciated the flower and the massive jack-in-the-beanstalk style plant for a few months.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Long-lasting<\/b><\/p>\n

Once the plant dies, you can leave these bad boys in the ground for several months, and they stay fresh!\u00a0 Or harvest them and keep them like you would potatoes – they are super long lasting.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Funk
Funky jerusalem artichoke grown here at La Bruguera<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Prolific<\/b><\/p>\n

One little chunk of tuber will make you a plant, which gives you 5, 6, 7, 10 or more tubers!\u00a0 The better your soil and the closer you plant them to a water source, the better.\u00a0 We threw a bunch of chunks of tuber into the wet soil near a pond that had a little leak, thinking we might as well make the leak a resource, right?\u00a0 The JAs were super happy, and now we have tons.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only are they prolific, they pretty much re-seed themselves.\u00a0 You\u2019ll never get them all out in a harvest, and you are bound to have them pop up there the following year without having to do much.\u00a0 Some people call this an \u201cinvasive plant\u201d – with a bit of management this becomes a \u201clarge quantity of free food with a nice flower on top\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nutritious<\/b><\/p>\n

JAs have a relatively similar nutritional profile to potatoes – but a nuttier more interesting flavour.\u00a0 There is no fat, or cholesterol in them, and they have a lot of dietary fibre (non-starchy carbs), and a relatively small amount of minerals and vitamins.\u00a0 They have a tonne of iron -probably the highest amount of most of the commonly munched tubers among 21st century occidental eaters. Lots more nutrition data on them <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Names<\/b><\/p>\n

It is important to note that they are not from Jerusalem, and they are not artichokes either.\u00a0 <\/span>Some people think<\/span><\/a> that the name is actually a bad English corruption of <\/span>Girasole Articiocco <\/span><\/i>, an early Italian common name for them which literally means Sunflower (\u2018cause they look like one) and Artichoke (\u2018cause at a push they sort of taste like one?).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On top of that their common names are pretty funky.\u00a0 For starters the Catalan ones – Ny\u00e0mera and Tupinambo (a <\/span>Castellanisme <\/span><\/i>from the Spanish Topinambor) are good for a chuckle, but they are also known as Sunchokes, Earth Apples.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Word of Warning \ud83d\udca8<\/b><\/p>\n

Some people get – ahem – a bit, well, gassy, in a word, after eating JAs. This is said to be because of the amount of \u201croughage\u201d in them – inert carbs which do not get digested in the gut.\u00a0 If you are new to them, try a small amount first and see what happens.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But never fear…<\/b><\/p>\n

We have found that fermenting them, which is a form of pre-digestion, gets rid of this problem entirely (to those of it happens to – it is not everyone, and it changes as you get used to them).\u00a0 We have also found that peeling them before using them in a soup drastically reduces the, um, emissions (producing noted improvements in air quality in the local microclimate).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Recipes<\/b><\/p>\n

Recipe 1: Jerusalem Artichoke, Pumpkin and Potato Soup<\/b><\/p>\n

They are soooooo nice in SOUP!\u00a0 This is one we have served here to great acclaim. Recipe follows below the pic!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jerusalem
Jerusalem Artichoke and Pumpkin soup at La Bruguera (this one garnished with pomegranate, chilli and fennel)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

INGREDIENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n