At the time, I just thought they were weird looking and didn’t taste like much. Nothing at all like the real artichokes that we kids fought over at the dinner table. My childhood mind decided that they didn’t grow very good artichokes in Jerusalem.
Why Are Sunchokes Called Jerusalem Artichokes?
Hah! Well, mystery solved. Turns out Jerusalem artichokes are neither artichokes, nor are they from Jerusalem. They’re tubers, native of North America, and the plant is related to and resembles sunflowers. (In fact, these days they are often called sunchokes.) “Jerusalem” is thought to have evolved from the Italian name for the plant, “girasole,” for sunflower. Why “artichoke”? If my mom had only cooked them, then that part of the mystery would have been solved for me. Cooked, they taste surprisingly like artichokes. Yum! A traditional and wonderfully easy way to prepare these chokes is as a soup. If you like the taste of artichokes, I urge you to try your hand at making this soup with Jerusalem artichokes. This is lick-the-bowl good.
A Word to the Wise
Sunchokes are known for… well, how can I say it politely… causing flatulence, especially when raw. In fact, Hank calls them “fartichokes”. (He grows them in his garden; he should know.) He tells me that slow cooking them, like this soup preparation, greatly reduces the problem. Eh hem, although I’m sure I’m risking telling you Too Much Information, I had no particular gaseous issue with this soup. Thank goodness, because I can’t wait to make it again. If you wish to neutralize the inulin in Jersalem artichokes (it’s the chemical that causes the bloating or gas that everyone is talking about), you can boil them in water with added lemon juice or vinegar. The acid hydrolyzes the inulin and turns it into sugars.
How To Store Leftover Soup
Cooked sunchokes will only keep for a couple of days in the fridge. The same goes for the leftover soup. Although this soup doesn’t contain any dairy, it’s best not to freeze the soup or keep it too long, since Jerusalem artichokes have a tendency to oxidize and discolor when exposed to air.
More Soup Recipes to Try!
Corn Chowder Gazpacho Summer Minestrone Soup Potage Pisto Potato Leek Soup
Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper before serving.
