We grew these in our backyard when I was growing up, as did our grandparents. They are good raw, and you can chop them up and add them to salads. They are also tasty sauteed in butter (make sure they retain some crunch) with a bit of fresh rosemary, parsley, and a bit of garlic. Enjoy!

Oh, forgot to add: sometimes we'd have them raw, sliced, and dipped in oil & vinegar.

I've only ever roasted them, and only done that a couple of times. One of my favorite dry pastas, however, is DeBoles whole wheat with Jerusalem artichoke flour. Excellent flavor. I don't know how one would go about making them into flour without commercial equipment. Dry them in a dehydrator and then the FP?

Have you and your family had them before?

Some people may have digestive issues eating them.

dcarch

As dcarch says, they're not okay for everyone. Some people can't digest them at all well, as I discovered to my extreme discomfort. I don't mean bean-level discomfort, I mean pain.

A very old Southern recipe uses them to make "Artichoke Relish" that I oddly just heard about on Christmas Day from a 5th generation Southerner.

They are native to Eastern US. The Indians ate them several ways and introduced them to the first colonists. Since the plant is very invasive and weedy, people do not plant it anymore. I've never eaten them but I do think I have some growing on my wild acres.

The flowers are pretty. I suggest planting them. Pick a bouquet in late fall of cheerful yellow flowers. The tubers make me gassy. Warning though - plant them far away from any fiddly flowers.

So I grew up in rural Maine. They grow everywhere here. In the community of back to the landers that I lived among some hedonistic people could cook delicious food with marginal budgets and odd food philosophies. On the other hand some grimly prepared burnt organic sustaining gruel on their ancient woodstoves according to some rigid dietary rules expounded by some learned person. There are foods I associate with the second group that gradually through my adulthood I have been very slowly rediscovering as food. Alas I haven’t faced burdock roots or Jerusalem artichokes yet.

If you would like a recipe that uses Jerusalem artichokes as one of the ingredients instead of the central ingredient, there is a roast chicken with Jerusalem artichoke recipe in the cookbook "Jerusalem" by Otto Lenghi. In fact he has a number of recipe using this tuber.

I've not made the dish, but this cookbook and Lenghi's other cookbooks are remarkable, no recipe therein has ever disappointed me. So you've inspired me to go looking for Jerusalem artichokes and make this dish myself.

Here is a blog with the recipe, and an inspiring photo - kind of chatty but you can just skip to the end for the info. https://vikalinka.com/roast-chicken-with-jerusalem-artichokes-and-lemons/

Here is a Guardian article with plenty of information and more recipes. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/15/seasonal-food-jerusalem-artichokes

I grew them several years ago and got a ton of them. I tried them both cooked and raw. We all had "digestive issues". DH had it worse of all, painful. Dug them all up and tossed them onto the compost pile. Never again would we eat them. We joke about it.

I just made the Roast Chicken With Jerusalem Artichokes recipe mentioned above. It was tasty. I think you could happily substitute some other root veg for the J artichokes, texture, but not potato which would be too soft. Maybe also a little bit of jarred (conventional) artichoke heart for the slight tang of the J artichoke. The most assertive flavors are citrus, thyme, and chicken. I used deboned chicken thighs and roasted in a pan with about 1/2" of liquid (marinade), then drizzled with olive oil and broiled for a few minutes.

I'll let you know if any digestive symptoms arise :-)

ROTFL!! We're sitting on the JL intestine watch! :)

Jerusalem artichokes, also known as “Jerusalem fartichokes.”

It causes gas because of the large amounts of Inulin, an indigestible polysaccharides.

However, inulin can be converted to digestible sugars by “acid hydrolysis.” In layman’s terms, that means bathing the inulin in something watery and acidic.

Modern science concurs: “Boiling Jerusalem artichokes in an acid such as
lemon juice or vinegar will hydrolyze the inulin to fructose and small amounts of glucose” advises Bob Rastall, a professor of food science..

Also look up Linda Ziedrich and Rose Marie Nichols McGee Jerusalem artichoke recipes

dcarch

Thanks dcarch! This must be why the recipe has you initially boil and simmer the J artichokes in water to which lemon juice has been added. Otto Lenghi knows his digestible sugars!

Anyway, I'm sorry to not be entertaining, but there is nothing amiss in my intestines after the meal!

Umm, I have to report that DD is now suffering intestinal distress. She believes it may be due to some old cheese that only she ate tonight, as the rest of us are chipper as songbirds. But still...

John, he's called Yotam Ottolenghi lol

Ooops!