artichokes

[grawrc]

It's celeriac that needs a lot of water not ja.

[grawrc]

[Vinlander]

The problem in Jerusalem Artichokes definitely comes from inulin, but I doubt that the similar flavour in Globe Artichoke heads comes from the same - they are supposed to reduce flatulence!

Also the sweetness in the globe ones becomes more pronounced as you dig in - that's because it has an even more special substance (not a sugar) that acts on your tongue to make everything you eat afterwards taste sweet.

Inulin can be broken down into other more digestible (but worse GI) sugars.

I find long slow cooking helps JAs - basically if you are roasting them leave the skin on (so they don't disintegrate) - you need to end up with slightly shrunken bags of mush. Absolutely delicious.

However Obbelix is right - any guests unused to a high fibre diet will still have some small problems whatever you do.

Cheers.

PS. JAs can be fermented and are highly rated as a feedstock for making industrial alcohol. And in Germany there is a JA schnapps (which I look forward to trying).

[grawrc]

Well I've tasted my first jerusalem artichokes ... and decided not to grow any!!  I made some soup with a bag of ja from the farmers' market. The texture and consistency was great but I didn't think much of the flat, back of the palate taste. I ended up adding cumin and coriander to make it more appetising but still couldn't get away from that aftertaste. So I'm not planting any! There are so many other things I would rather eat it seems kind of silly not to stick with them.

[sunloving]

Is it a myth that if you cook them with winter savory that the fart factor is reduced?
Its just me and the dog though here so just have to stay out of the local library on artichoke day!
:)

x sunloving

[lottie lou]

I put in a dozen plants and the returns are phenomenal, however.........  So that's why my celeriac only grew lovely greenery with nothing on the bottim - not enough water!!!  Thanks for the advice

[Vinlander]

Well I've tasted my first jerusalem artichokes ... and decided not to grow any!!  I made some soup with a bag of ja from the farmers' market. The texture and consistency was great but I didn't think much of the flat, back of the palate taste. I ended up adding cumin and coriander to make it more appetising but still couldn't get away from that aftertaste. So I'm not planting any! There are so many other things I would rather eat it seems kind of silly not to stick with them.

I don't recognise that flat, back of the palate taste you describe - I might say something similar about beetroot but not JAs...

I start with at least 10% onion softened in butter before braising the JA tubers long and slowly (which also reduces windiness) in LOTS of butter.

If you look it up on google you will find lots of people who think it is the best soup in the world...

It's also worth trying them slow roasted before giving up on them - they are the easiest of all veg to grow well - the only problem is avoiding a glut every single year.

A good candidate for guerilla gardening in your local rough ground or neglected verge!

I have high hopes for my JA and (woody) parsnip wine still brewing from the spring.

Cheers.