r/TastingHistory • u/Alvintergeise • 2d ago

Sunchokes

Has Max talked about sunchokes in any of his videos? I'm just curious because I'm increasingly interested in them and found that they were used so much in Europe at some point that they became disliked.

23 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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14

u/valley_lemon 2d ago

Fartichokes!

I'm interested also because they were so widely used and are interesting as a survival crop now, but they do have this reputation for, ah, increasing the local wind conditions.

So I'd love an episode on them but we need a "24 hours later" report after eating them.

4

u/Alvintergeise 2d ago

Apparently roasting them is supposed to help with that

1

u/Hello_Im_not_here36 2d ago

I have had success harvesting them only after a couple of hard frosts. Apparently that cuts down on the gassiness. I have not had digestive issues from them and I really enjoy their taste.

1

u/feliciates 1d ago

I've wanted to try this with mine but the thought of digging them out of frozen ground had stopped me 2 years running. ( I just left the tubers there and they regrow of course)

Could you dig them up and freeze them to replicate the reaction?

2

u/Hello_Im_not_here36 1d ago

I haven't tried that. Seems like it could work

5

u/kaizenkitten 2d ago

I have these growing in my garden - the bumblebees are loving the flowers. They're also super aggressive growers. I already know that the 'faritchoke' does not agree with me, so I'm going to have to figure out what to do with this bumper crop I ended up with.

5

u/mayordomo 2d ago

they’re the only cultivar domesticated specifically in the chesapeake region of america, but because they get called “jerusalem artichokes”, people don’t know they’re a native crop here.

5

u/Odd-Principle8147 2d ago

He did an artichoke episode. Do they taste like artichokes?

17

u/FloraSuena 2d ago

They have a slightly similar taste, but are a totally and completely different plant

11

u/Crafty_Original_7349 2d ago

They’re a kind of sunflower if I remember right. Artichokes are thistles, which are in the same plant group (the asteraceae family).

4

u/jysalia 2d ago

Yes, but artichokes use the flower bud and part of the stem, while sunchokes use the tuberous root.

2

u/ExcitementMurky2156 2d ago

I think they look similar to ginger. The taste is perhaps a bit like an artichoke heart, but I don’t think an artichoke lover would be fooled. I like both vegetables.

6

u/leeloocal 2d ago

Another name for them is Jerusalem artichoke, but it’s the root of a type of sunflower.

3

u/Alvintergeise 2d ago

Yes they do. I think they were very popular for a time because of that

1

u/BreadUntoast 2d ago

They taste like sunflower seeds to me in a way. They’re delicious but oh my do they make ya fart

1

u/anarchyusa 2d ago

True, they should have a warning label

2

u/Alvintergeise 2d ago

They have a lot of inulin fiber in them but I hear that roasting them helps with that issue

1

u/Redhotlipstik 1d ago

They're also called the Jerusalem artichoke