Jerusalem Artichoke Recipe (Pickled Sunchokes) (2024)

In this Jerusalem Artichokes Recipe post, I'll be sharing my favorite way to enjoy these surprisingly sweet and nutty tubers, pickled! There are many Sunchoke Recipes online, but this is by far my favorite! Torshi, including pickled sunchokes, are served on the side with Assyrian meals, especially with stew and rice.

"Sunchokes" are called "Khabooysheh't Arah" in Assyrian. This name translates to "Ground Apples." "Earth Apples" also happens to be one of their names in English. Other names include "Sunroot" and "Canada potatoes."

🧐 Why This Recipe Works

• Pickled sunchokes have a way of taking over the garden so pickling them is a great way of preserving them to enjoy throughout the year.
• Fermented vegetables contain lots of healthy gut bacteria.
• This is an easy-to-follow recipe and only requires a handful of ingredients.

🛒 What You Need For This Recipe

🔖 Recipe Ingredient Notes

• Sunchokes — Sunchokes can be found in the Fall in some health food stores or ethnic markets. They can be listed as "Sunflower Chokes" or "Jerusalem artichokes" They can also be grown by sticking the tubers into the ground. Once planted, the tubers spread and multiply in number and can be harvested in the Fall.
• Curry — Curry powder comes in both hot and mild, either may be used in this recipe.
• Vinegar — I like to use a combination of apple cider vinegar and distilled white vinegar. However, you can either one.
• Peppers — Spicy peppers like habaneros are not added traditionally, but I like to add them. Feel free to leave them out.

🌻 How to Make Pickled Sunchokes

STEP 1: Thoroughly clean sunchokes to remove all the soil and dirt. Trim any dark spots or knots off, and peel if needed.

STEP 2: Stir half of the salt into one quart (4 cups) of cold water, and mix until the salt is dissolved.

STEP 3: Place sunchokes in a large sterilized jar. Cover with the brine solution.

STEP 4: Leave the lid untightened to allow the gases to escape.

STEP 5: Place the bottle in a dark location for one week. Check the bottled sunchokes after three days. There should be a build-up of gases. If not, be patient, it will happen.

STEP 6: When the brine does get murky and the gases float to the surface drain the old brine and make a new batch. Brine the sunchokes for approximately four more days.

STEP 7: Once the sunchokes have been brined for one week, remove them from the brine and rinse them with fresh, cold water.

STEP 8: Pour vinegar into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir the curry into the vinegar until combined. The curry will still settle to the bottom, which is ok.

STEP 9: Allow the vinegar to cool for approximately five minutes. Add sunchokes, garlic, parsley, and chilis (if using).

STEP 10: Add the contents of the pot to sterilized jars and store in the refrigerator. Mine yielded two jars (one quart-sized jar and an eight-ounce jar).

The pickled sunchokes will be ready to eat after three days but will taste better the longer they're allowed to pickle.

Note: Mom always kept her mix of pickles in a large plastic ice cream tub. You know, the kind with the red handle? She made a lot of pickles and added more when the tub got low.

🤷🏻‍♀️Recipe FAQs

👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips

• Never tighten the jar lid during the brining process, the bottle can burst as a result of the gases being released from the sunchokes.
• Pickled sunchokes will be ready to eat in as little as three days after pickling them in the vinegar solution. However, the longer they pickle the more flavor they will absorb.
• If you prefer canning the pickles instead of storing them in the refrigerator, be sure to pack the sunchokes in jars that have been properly sterilized. Boil sealed jars in a water bath for at least five minutes before storing them in a cool, dark location.
• If you find the pickling solution too strong, you can replace some of the vinegar with salted water. Use the ratio found in my pickled carrots recipe.
• Plastic or glass containers are perfect for storing pickles. For longer, unrefrigerated storage, use the following sterilization/canning directions.

This Jerusalem artichoke recipe will forever remind me of my mom. Not only because she made the BEST pickled sunchokes. No, it’s because sunchokes were partially responsible for her developing lymphedema.

Mom wasn’t supposed to do anything strenuous with her arm after her lymph nodes were removed (due to breast cancer.

Unfortunately, mom, who loved working in her garden, single-handedly pulled many sunchoke plants from their roots, so she could pickle the tubers.

Her arm swelled almost immediately and it never went back to normal. So if you enjoy this Jerusalem artichokes recipe, give mom a little nod, would you?

📖 Recipe