Sunchokes - Certified Organic - BC

Certified Organic Sunchokes — Mara Valley Produce

If you've never cooked with sunchokes before, you're in for a treat! These knobbly little root vegetables have a sweet, nutty flavour that's often compared to artichokes, with a texture that becomes beautifully tender and creamy when cooked.

Also known as Jerusalem artichokes, sunchokes are delicious roasted, sautéed, mashed or blended into soup. They're one of those lesser-known vegetables that deserve a little more attention.

These Certified Organic sunchokes are grown by Mara Valley Produce in Grindrod, BC.

Why You'll Love Them

• Certified Organic

• Grown locally in Grindrod, BC

• Sweet, nutty, slightly artichoke-like flavour

• Delicious roasted or blended into soup

• No peeling required

• A fun way to try something different from the usual root vegetables

Great For

Roasting, soups, purées, gratins, sautés, crispy chips and mixed root vegetable dishes.

Our favourite place to start is roasting them with olive oil, garlic and thyme until golden and caramelized. The outsides become beautifully browned while the insides turn soft and creamy.

You can also slice them thinly and sauté until tender, or blend cooked sunchokes into a velvety soup.

Storage

Store sunchokes unwashed in the refrigerator's crisper drawer, ideally in a bag or container to prevent them from drying out.

Unlike potatoes, sunchokes have thin skins and can lose moisture relatively quickly, so they're best kept refrigerated rather than in a pantry.

Build Your Basket

Pair with potatoes, carrots and onions for a tray of roasted root vegetables, or add leeks, garlic and thyme for a creamy sunchoke soup.

They're also delicious with rosemary, butter, Parmesan and a squeeze of lemon.

Good to Know

Despite their name, Jerusalem artichokes aren't from Jerusalem, and they aren't artichokes!

Sunchokes are actually the edible tubers of a type of sunflower native to North America. Above ground, the plant produces tall stems and cheerful yellow flowers. Underground, it grows these wonderfully knobbly, edible tubers.

Here's another interesting difference between sunchokes and potatoes: sunchokes store much of their carbohydrate as inulin rather than starch.

Inulin is a type of fermentable dietary fibre that can support beneficial gut bacteria. However, it can also cause gas and bloating, particularly if you eat a large serving when you're not used to it.

If sunchokes are new to you, start with a small serving and see how your digestion responds. Cooking them thoroughly may make them easier to enjoy, although it doesn't eliminate the inulin.

How to Stretch This

Don't bother peeling them! Their thin skins are edible, so a good scrub is usually all they need. A small brush is handy for cleaning around the knobbly bits.

If you've got a handful left after dinner, roast them alongside potatoes or add them to a blended vegetable soup.

You can also slice them thinly, toss with oil and salt, and bake until crisp for homemade sunchoke chips.

Meet the Grower

Mara Valley Produce • Grindrod, BC

Grown Certified Organic by Mara Valley Produce, practically neighbours of ours here in Grindrod.

Certified Organic • Mara Valley Produce • Grindrod, BC • Sunchokes