How Should You Cook Jerusalem Artichokes?

Jerusalem artichokes can be cooked in a variety of ways. The BBC's Good Food glossary states that they can be cooked in the same way that one would cook potatoes or parsnips. This means that they can be roasted, sautéed, fried or pureed for use in a soup. They are known as one of the best non-meat sources of iron.

Jerusalem artichokes are at their best and in season between November and March. The skins should be a pale brown colour with no dark or soft patches. Make sure that they look firm and fresh rather than soft and wrinkled. Although Jerusalem artichokes are knobbly by nature, try to find artichokes with fewer knobs because this will make it easier to peel them. However, it is not absolutely necessary to peel Jerusalem artichokes before cooking and whether you do so or not is down to personal preference.

Make sure you keep them stored in a cool, dark place. If you do so, they should keep for up to ten days.

The Abel and Cole website gives a wide variety of recipe ideas using Jerusalem artichokes. You can visit their page at www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes/artichokejerusalem#recipe2

If you want to cook artichokes by themselves, then you could follow these steps:

- Scrub the artichokes thoroughly. You can peel them if you want to.
- Boil or steam them whole for between 15 and 20 minutes, until they are soft.
- Alternatively, you can chop them first and cook them for a shorter time - between 5 and 10 minutes. If you do this then add lemon juice to the water to prevent discolouring.

To have the best flavor and nutrition, it is always recommended to eat Jerusalem artichokes as fresh as possible. Their nutrients are piled up under the skin, so don't peel them. But also because of their high iron content, cooking them with the skins may result a darkening of the skins.

You can stir fry, bake, steam or boil the Jerusalem artichokes. In case of stir fry, you can do this with other vegetables in not more than 2 to 4 minutes. While baking, you may bake the whole or you may cut them into pieces within 30 minutes. If you would like to have steamed Jerusalem artichokes, you can do that using steamer basket for 5 to 8 minutes. For boiling purpose, you can do it with a covered pot with water for 10-15 minutes for whole piece, and 5-7 minutes for chopped one.