Dried Jerusalem artichoke is an exquisite delicacy rich in vitamins. This is a wise way to preserve the harvest and get an unusual decoration for culinary dishes.

Dried Jerusalem artichoke, how to dry Jerusalem artichoke.

To make dried Jerusalem artichoke, you need to carefully dig up the tubers; do this at above-zero temperatures, but after the vegetable has finished flowering. They try to carefully remove the harvest from the ground so as not to cut the earthen pear.

After digging, the vegetable is thoroughly washed and placed in the sun to dry, for example, on oilcloth.

After drying, the tubers are thoroughly peeled and laid out on a paper towel to remove excess moisture.

No later than half an hour later, otherwise the peeled vegetable will darken, start cutting Jerusalem artichoke.

The earthen pear is cut into thin circles, strips, or grated on a curly grater. Shaped cutting allows you to later use dried Jerusalem artichoke “shavings” to decorate dishes.

After cutting the vegetable, immediately sprinkle with lemon juice, otherwise the slices will darken and acquire an unsightly brown tone when finished. Processing pieces of Jerusalem artichoke with lemon allows you to get a beautiful Jerusalem artichoke and solve the problem of how to dry Jerusalem artichoke.

You can dry Jerusalem artichokes in the sun, in the oven or in a special dryer. It is possible to obtain high-quality dried Jerusalem artichoke in the sun's rays only in the southern regions, where the autumn sun has sufficient heat; if there is not enough solar heat, the vegetable will begin to rot.

To dry Jerusalem artichoke in the oven, lay baking paper on trays and lay out its fragments in one layer, trying to ensure that they do not touch each other. Jerusalem artichoke is dried in several passes. To begin with, set the temperature to 50 degrees and turn on the oven for three hours, then take a break for a day.

Before the second stage of drying, the slices are turned over, salted or sprinkled with seasonings if desired. Turn on the oven at 60 degrees and dry the Jerusalem artichoke until ready. This technique is the secret of how to dry Jerusalem artichoke so that it does not break, but is slightly viscous, which indicates high-quality drying.

The finished Jerusalem artichoke should have a pleasant aroma, slightly darkened tone and be elastic.

In a similar way, you can solve the dilemma of how to dry Jerusalem artichoke in an electric dryer. The slices are laid out on sections of electrical equipment in a checkerboard pattern, and during breaks the lower and upper sections are swapped for more uniform drying.

Store dried Jerusalem artichoke in glass containers away from sunlight, for example, in a kitchen cabinet. Paper or fabric bags are also suitable for storage. The condition of the workpieces is periodically checked and dried if necessary. Dried Jerusalem artichoke can be stored for no more than a year.

January 9, 2012

If you don’t trust industrial dietary supplements and want to improve your body’s health with natural, healthy products, stock up on Jerusalem artichoke for future use. A fortified drink is prepared from powder made from dried Jerusalem artichoke, which will prevent many ailments.

Before you start drying, Jerusalem artichoke tubers must be carefully inspected and only healthy ones, free from damage and signs of rot, must be selected. Then the tubers are washed in several waters, cleared of secondary roots, and peeled. After this, the Jerusalem artichoke is cut into circles or cubes and laid out on an open surface in the room, protected from direct sunlight. Drying usually takes four to five days.

If the Jerusalem artichoke will be dried in the oven, then pre-blanch the tubers in salted water with the addition of baking soda (8 grams of baking soda per liter of water) for 8-10 minutes. After this, the Jerusalem artichoke is cut and dried in the oven at a temperature of 50-60 degrees for about three hours. In order for the raw material to dry evenly, it must be mixed. Dried Jerusalem artichoke is crushed into powder and stored in glass jars.

Now, if you are asked,

Jerusalem artichoke, its second name is earthen pear or sun root, is a perennial nutritious plant, the benefits of which are enormous for the entire body. Tubers are rich in vitamins B and C, fructose and microelements.

In order to receive from the plant all the microelements the body needs all year round, you need to know how to store Jerusalem artichoke at home.

Cultivation and collection

People have been growing and using earthen pear as a medicine and food for many centuries. Moreover, it is a dietary product included in various therapeutic diets.

Growing and harvesting Jerusalem artichoke is a simple task. It does not require special conditions and tolerates winter well. This culture is in one place can grow up to forty years. From one hundred square meters you can harvest up to 250 kilograms of crop.

Before organizing the storage of Jerusalem artichoke at home or in the cellar for the winter, you need assemble and prepare it correctly. Harvest in early November. Jerusalem artichoke does not store well, therefore, you should not collect everything at once in the fall. Some of the fruit should be left in the ground. It is perfectly stored in the ground and tolerates frosts well down to minus forty degrees, while retaining all its beneficial properties.

In spring, root crops must be dug up.

Storing Jerusalem artichoke

To better preserve the fruits, they are dug up and, without cleaning, placed in a container or bag, where they will remain fresh until spring. Jerusalem artichoke has a very thin and delicate skin that can be easily damaged even by rubbing it with your finger. If root vegetables are thrown away or rearranged carelessly, then after 2-3 days they will begin to deteriorate.

There are several options to reliably save root vegetables until spring:

• freezing;
• immersion in paraffin;
• trench method;
• drying;
• storage in the ground;
• storage in the basement/cellar.

All of the above storage options will help preserve root crops until spring without much loss. Jerusalem artichoke is not afraid of frost, so it can be stored on the balcony, in the refrigerator or in the pantry.

When harvesting, you do not need to cut off the stalk; you need to leave a root at least 15 centimeters long. This helps preserve nutrients in the root crop.

Having pulled out the root crop from the garden bed, you need to carefully wipe it. The collected earthen pears are carefully laid out in boxes. They can be placed on the balcony, but provided that the temperature there is not lower than five degrees below zero. If it is much colder on the balcony, then Jerusalem artichoke needs to be added to the the coolest place in the house, and cover with a cloth, protecting from light.

The easiest ways

In country houses, tubers are stored in the cellar, packed in plastic bags at a temperature of +2 degrees. Jerusalem artichoke is perfectly preserved in wooden boxes filled with moist soil.

Before storing tubers you need dry well. If there is no cellar, then the root crops are placed in containers and lowered into a hole. The top of the containers is covered with roofing felt and covered with soil and sand. You cannot store Jerusalem artichoke in the cellar along with potatoes and beets; this is an undesirable neighborhood.

To save basement space, root vegetables can be buried along with carrots, since they also like to be covered with sand in winter. Some gardeners apply a clay mixture to Jerusalem artichokes and place them in plastic bags and tie them tightly so that less air remains in them.

Wax, as an option, is pretty good to preserve Jerusalem artichoke for the winter. The fruit is carefully cleaned of dirt. They dry in the shade for about three hours, after which they are dipped in hot paraffin. If there is no food paraffin, then ordinary paraffin, from which candles are made, is suitable for this purpose. The earthen pear is placed in cardboard boxes and lowered into the cellar.

The waxing procedure should take place in a cold room to quickly cool the root crop, since overheating has a negative effect on the earthen pear.

Preservation, drying and freezing

A large number of gardeners know about the beneficial properties of Jerusalem artichoke and therefore collect recipes for preparing Jerusalem artichoke for the winter. Ground pear juice and salads are good for human immune system and treat colds well. You can prepare the root for the winter in the following ways:

1. The Jerusalem artichoke is peeled and cut into pieces of any shape, placed in bags and sent to the freezer, where it will be stored for a long time. It is recommended to pack in small bags. Repeated freezing is unacceptable.
2. To dry the root vegetable, it must be washed well, peeled and cut into thin slices. Dry in a hot oven or in the air, but not in direct sunlight. After proper drying, Jerusalem artichoke fully retains its beneficial properties.
3. A good way to store it in an apartment is preservation. Jam and syrups are prepared from the root.

Storing root crops in trenches

Trenches for storing Jerusalem artichoke are prepared in advance, before the soil freezes. A trench half a meter deep is dug, and dry leaves or sawdust are placed at its bottom.

Dried and whole tubers are placed in two layers, then covered with sand, a thick film is placed on top and pressed again with a layer of sand. Some experienced gardeners lay root vegetables with roots in a fabric bag. With this storage, you don’t need to worry about the earthen pear spoiling. In winter, it is convenient to remove root vegetables from the trench by folding back the edge of the film. But mice are dangerous. There are two options for saving the crop from them:

• You can spread the poison on straw or leaves.
• Burdock inflorescences are laid out in the trench along with the earthen pear. Mice do not tolerate it when something clings to them and will not come into the trench again.

To prevent the trench from being flooded with water, a shallow ditch is dug in a circle at a distance of about fifty centimeters from the storage facility. This storage method is suitable for those who live in their own home and can dig a similar trench in the yard.

Attention, TODAY only!

The earthen pear is not purposefully grown on the site very often, but this is only until the first sample is taken. Immediately after this, gardeners begin to actively figure out how to store Jerusalem artichoke, and in what form it can be harvested for the winter. The roots of the plant, which many consider to be a weed, can be dried and frozen. In addition, there are options that involve storing the component directly on the site. If possible, it is better to harvest as much as will be eaten in the coming weeks. Fans of conservation can try interesting ways of twisting for the winter.

Options for storing Jerusalem artichoke on the site

Jerusalem artichoke is resistant to even the most severe frosts, so you can simply not dig it up until you need it. With this approach, it becomes possible to use a fresh product, if necessary. In addition, homestead owners can organize the storage of tubers in the following ways:

• You can dig a deep hole in the ground that has not yet frozen and place the remains of the crop in it. The components can be pre-laid out in wooden boxes, then it will be easier to work with them.
• To avoid digging anything, you can use this approach. We clear an area of ​​the required size right on the ground and pour Jerusalem artichoke onto it. We sprinkle it with snow, the thickness of the layer should be at least 10 cm. We lay out another layer of tubers and cover them with snow too. We make several such layers and sprinkle the entire structure with sawdust and insulate it with straw.

Advice: When organizing the storage of earthen pears on a personal plot, you need to make sure that access to oxygen is blocked to the crop. This chemical compound triggers reactions that result in the formation of substances in the pulp that are harmful to the human body. If necessary, you should even use special paraffin compounds that treat each tuber.

• If the ground is not frozen yet, we dig a not very deep trench in it, the bottom of which is lined with spruce forest. We place plastic containers filled with Jerusalem artichoke on top. We cover it all with hay or the same branches, snow, or a sheet of roofing material.

Such approaches allow you to stock up large quantities of earthen pears for the winter, and they will remain fresh. At home, you can try the option with drawers, using a cold veranda or a glazed balcony. All other approaches involve pre-treatment of the plant.

Homemade ways to store Jerusalem artichoke

If you simply put the tubers in the refrigerator, they will begin to spoil in less than a month. To achieve at least this, they need to be packed in a zip bag or plastic container with an airtight lid. Peeled and sliced ​​items will only last a few days. Better to use more efficient approaches:

• Jerusalem artichoke can be dried naturally. We clean the dried tubers, wash them, and cut them into arbitrary, but not very thick, slices. We cut out all damage or throw away such components altogether. Place the pieces on a tray and dry them in the fresh air until they are completely dry. In this case, the records should not be exposed to direct sunlight.

• Freezing the product. Cut the peeled and washed tubers into strips and blanch in boiling water or curd whey for 5 minutes. Next, cool the components and freeze them in the freezer. All that remains is to pack them in bags or plastic containers and put them in the freezer.

• Storing tubers in sand. Take a canvas bag and wet sand (when you clench your fist, it should take shape, but not release liquid). We put the Jerusalem artichoke in a bag, sprinkle it with sand, and fill the container to the required degree. Be sure to tie the burlap, after which the container can be placed on a cool balcony or loggia. You can keep the Jerusalem artichoke there until it gets warmer.

• Preparing preserves. There are dozens, if not hundreds of options for Jerusalem artichoke blanks. Recipes can be easily implemented at home. Moreover, the dishes can be the most unusual, even jam.

In addition, the fruits can be dried in the oven. This approach allows you to achieve the desired result much faster. Thin plates should be kept until ready in a slightly open oven, heated to a temperature of 60ºC. Before carrying out the manipulation, the tubers should be blanched in a weak soda solution for 10 minutes. Already dried Jerusalem artichoke can be ground into flour. This component is often used in exotic and traditional cooking.

How can you preserve Jerusalem artichoke?

Some housewives prefer to dry Jerusalem artichoke before storing it. But this is not at all necessary. It all depends on the recipe and individual preferences.

• Pickled tubers. In addition to Jerusalem artichoke, we will need some carrots, two tablespoons of honey, salt and vinegar per 1 liter of water. Wash the vegetables, peel them, cut them into small pieces of the same size, and put them in a glass jar. Pour in the marinade prepared from the remaining ingredients. Sterilize for 15 minutes, roll up and store.

• Nutritional mixture with therapeutic effect. Combine a glass of boiled water with two glasses of natural sea buckthorn juice. We clean the Jerusalem artichoke and cut it into small cubes (you should get 1 kg of product). Pour the vegetable into a glass of granulated sugar and fill it with the liquid mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat, remove and pour into jars. We sterilize them for 30 minutes and roll them up.

• Pear and pumpkin jam. For 1 kg of peeled Jerusalem artichoke we take the same amount of pumpkin pulp, cleared of seeds, a glass of sugar and one lemon. Cut the vegetables into small pieces, cut the lemon into slices (do not cut off the peel), remove the seeds and grind in a blender. Combine these components, add sugar and leave for 1 hour. After this time, put the mixture on the stove, bring to a boil and keep on medium heat for no more than 5 minutes. In this case, the composition must be constantly stirred with a wooden spoon, skim off the foam if it appears. Pour the finished mixture into jars, close without additional sterilization and leave for a day under a blanket to cool.

When working with earthen pears, you should not use ordinary metal knives, but their ceramic or bone counterparts. In contact with the juice of the product, the metal will oxidize, which will gradually reduce its strength and lead to damage to the blade.