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Not your garden variety artichoke (if you will)..,

12 years ago

On Saturday a friend gave me a small bag of fresh Jerusalem artichokes. The night before at dinner she had tried to explain to me what they were without much success:) Now I have enough to make something out of it sitting in my fridge but not too many ideas. I found of course a couple of recipes online that seemed to leave me with more questions than answers.

Someone have a good recipe for these little guys? Thank you.

Kate

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Comments (21)

foodonastump
12 years ago
I posted this David Chang dish in one of the WFD threads a while back. The recipe, which I've linked, came from Food & Wine. I really enjoyed it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Root Vegetable Stir-Fry
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
12 years ago
Have you had it before?

If not, try a little first. Some people cannot handle it very well.

A tip, if you like peeling the skin off, which is a pain to do:

Use a stainless steel wool pad to scrape the skin off under running water.

Let us know what you end up making.

dcarch
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jessyf
12 years ago
I haven't seen them in Trader Joe's in years....I love them plain roasted or in a 'cream of' soup. Yum!
cloudy_christine
12 years ago
Seconding Dcarch: Some people cannot handle it very well.
I ate these once. Never again.
katefisher
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks all. Well, some good information. I think I will go home and nibble a little on a scrubbed one first. If that goes well I will try some of your suggestions. Much appreciated.

Kate
arley_gw
12 years ago
They aren't artichokes, nor are they from Jerusalem. The name 'Jerusalem' may be a corruption of the Italian word for sunflower ('girasole') because of the plant's superficial resemblance to a sunflower.

Here's what the English botanist John Goodyer had to say about them in 1621:

"which way soever they be dressed and eaten, they stir and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body, thereby causing the belly to be pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine than men."

As dcarch said, some people can't handle them. Gotta love the blunt language: 'a filthy loathsome stinking wind within the body'.
cloudy_christine
12 years ago
"The belly... pained and tormented" describes it very well.
dgkritch
12 years ago
Delicious, but take some Beano and eat 'em when you don't have to be in public!! :)

Coated with a thin layer of olive oil, salt and pepper, then roasted. Yum!

I haven't harvested mine yet.

Deanna
cloudy_christine
12 years ago
For some people the effect is not just like beans.
Not just gassiness. Enormous pain.
compumom
12 years ago
I'm in the "sick" camp. Boy, that was one miserable evening. A couple of years later I tried it again, with a similar effect. I've sworn off!
jessyf
12 years ago
OMG I am so sorry to see that so many have unpleasant reactions. Guess I'll keep it off the menu when guests come over. Hmmm, depends on the guests, bwahahha....ones that don't sleep over. DARFC.....
donna_loomis
12 years ago
Someone gave me a bag full quite a while ago. I sliced them and sauteed them in some olive oil. In my opinion, they were absolutely delicious! The rest of the family said they were "okay". So I ate most of them. No pain, but the noise was terrible and the stink ferocious! I did cook them again, but never on a night before a work day, LOL.
Islay_Corbel
12 years ago
Thank you for the best laugh so far this week!!!
centralcacyclist
12 years ago
I ate some of these years ago. I don't recall any "effects" but I will henceforth avoid them! And will carefully inspect any meal offered to me by Jessy. ;)
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
12 years ago
No!!

Most people do not have problems eating JAs.

The problem with JA is some of of carbs cannot be used by the body, which is a great benifit for those who are on a diet. You can eat a lot and less carbs.

dcarch
arley_gw
12 years ago
To expand on what dcarch said, a lot of the carbohydrate in those tubers are in the form of inulin. These carbs aren't handled very well. That might explain the reaction some people have.
centralcacyclist
12 years ago
Inulin is also in beans with the same side effects. I can't eat beans.
compumom
12 years ago
Inulin? Aha that explains it! I can't eat beans either. Any of the gluten free products containing inulin make me ill too. I guess I'm a "fiber free" kind of gal!
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
12 years ago
Also in asparagus.

dcarch
cloudy_christine
12 years ago
Don't assume that if you eat beans you can eat Jerusalem artichokes. I eat beans.
compumom
12 years ago
Asparagus, really? Didn't realize that one. I'm fine now with it, but when my tummy issues were at their worst, it was highly suspect. Now I understand why! Thanks!

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