If you don’t trust factory-made 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 examined and only healthy ones, free from damage and signs of rottenness, must be selected. Then the tubers are washed in several waters, cleared of secondary roots, and peeled off. After that, 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 5 days.

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

Materials provided from the website www.otvetin.ru

Before you start drying, Jerusalem artichoke tubers must be carefully examined and only healthy ones, free from damage and signs of rottenness, must be selected. Then the tubers are washed in several waters, cleared of secondary roots, and peeled off. After that, the Jerusalem artichoke is cut into circles or cubes and laid out on an open surface in the room, protected from direct sunlight. Usually...

How to store Jerusalem artichoke? Very carefully. Unlike other tubers, Jerusalem artichoke has too thin a skin, which is damaged even by simple rubbing with a finger. And if the root vegetables are also turned over, they will begin to deteriorate within three days.

Popular wisdom has long come up with several reliable ways to preserve Jerusalem artichoke until spring:

• freezing
• drying
• paraffin
• natural shelter
• trench method
• basement method

Each of them is quite good and allows you to save tubers with virtually no losses.

Freezing

Jerusalem artichokes are dug up and washed. Here you don’t have to worry too much about the peel, because it’s not needed. Next, the fruits are peeled, cut into slices, cubes, plates - whatever you like. Place in a freezer bag or special food container. Place in the freezer. Such root vegetables can be stored all winter.

Advice. Freeze Jerusalem artichokes in small portions, at a time.

Dried Jerusalem artichoke

Advice. Contrary to erroneous belief, after drying, the tubers retain all nutrients, minerals and vitamins.

Waxing

A very good method that allows Jerusalem artichoke to remain juicy for a long time. Root vegetables are carefully cleaned of dirt, being careful not to damage the thin skin. Dry in a shady place for about 2-3 hours.

Then, with a gentle, quick movement, dip the tubers into melted paraffin. If you can get a special food item, that would be great. In the absence of one, you can get by with a regular candle one. After the top crust has hardened, carefully place the prepared Jerusalem artichoke in cardboard boxes or wooden boxes.

Put away for storage in the basement, subfloor or cellar. If you plan to save root vegetables in an apartment, then a place under the bed or the bottom shelf of a china cabinet is quite suitable. An insulated balcony will also do.

Natural storage

The most economical and reliable storage method. To use, dig up the required number of tubers, leaving the rest untouched in the ground. If the climate suggests the onset of frosts below 30°C, then you can additionally throw leaves or spruce branches directly on top of the soil. Cardboard, old roofing felt, and plywood are suitable for shelter.

As soon as the Jerusalem artichoke is over, you can go and dig up new tubers. Of course, it will be somewhat problematic to pick up the frozen ground, but you will get fresh fruits of your own labor.

Cleaning trenches

If it is not possible to leave the earthen pear for the winter in natural conditions, and there is simply nowhere to store it at home, then trenches will always help out.

They are prepared in the fall, when the ground is not yet frozen. Dig a hole or short trench 50 cm deep. Sawdust or dry leaves are poured onto the bottom. Dry, intact Jerusalem artichoke tubers are laid in two layers. 20 cm of soil, sand, straw are poured on top, covered with a thick film, and pressed on top with another layer of soil.

For added convenience, you can put each bush in a separate rag bag or wrap it in burlap.

Now you don’t have to worry, the root vegetables will survive just fine until spring. In winter it will be very easy to get them. Lift the edge of the film and dig out the required amount, close it back.

The main danger with this storage method is mice. They also love to feast on juicy tubers. There are two ways out:

1. Put a special poison in the straw. Inhumane, but very effective.
2. Dry burdock inflorescences are thrown into the trench mixed with an earthen pear. Effective and humane. Mice really don’t like it when something clings to their fur and will not come again.

Advice. To prevent meltwater from flooding the mini-storage in the spring, a shallow ditch is dug in a circle at a distance of 40-50 cm from it.

Basement or cellar

If you are lucky enough to be the owner of a cellar or basement, then the problem of how to store Jerusalem artichoke is not worth it.

There are generally a lot of options here, each of them is easy, requires little cost and effort:

1. Bury it in a container with sand, where carrots are usually stored.
2. The whole Jerusalem artichoke root with tubers is dug up without breaking. Place directly with the ground in a container of suitable size. Placed on the floor.
3. No containers? Regular boxes will do. You just need to sprinkle moss, peat or sawdust on top.
4. Lubricate the root vegetables with clay mash and dry them. Carefully place in thick plastic bags. They tie it, trying to leave as little air as possible.

The most important thing is to be sure to leave plant stumps 10 cm long. This way the root crops retain more nutrients.

If there is no cellar or basement, then a cool pantry or an insulated balcony will do.

The optimal temperature for this storage method is +2-4°C. If possible, you need to regularly inspect the bookmarks in order to notice the beginning of the putrefactive process in time. Jerusalem artichoke is a succulent plant, it can also spoil.

Advice. Beets and potatoes are bad neighbors for root vegetables. It is recommended to place them away from each other.

1. Jerusalem artichoke should not be rubbed to remove dirt. You can only shake it off. The same goes for drying. Let it dry naturally. Even the softest rags scratch the skin.
2. If there is no way to somehow keep the earthen pear fresh, then there are a great many recipes for preparations. After heat treatment, some of the substances are lost, but inulin (which is why the plant is so valued) will not go anywhere.
3. In the refrigerator on the vegetable shelf, the tubers last only 4 weeks.
4. If the natural storage method is chosen, it is recommended to cut off all the tops. Only stumps 12-15 cm high are left.
5. It is advisable to use the earthen pear before March-April. As the weather warms up, the tubers begin to bud and begin to grow. Such root vegetables are no longer suitable for food purposes.
6. Dried slices or straws are best stored in glass jars with a tight lid.
7. People suffering from flatulence can stop worrying about the safety of Jerusalem artichoke. They simply can't have it.
8. The ambient humidity during storage after digging should be at least 85%.
9. For the trench method, you can use plastic flower pots or buckets. This will make it more convenient to get the earthen pear in winter. Carefully pull the handle and you're done!
10. You cannot store Jerusalem artichoke directly on the concrete floor of the cellar. Cement absorbs moisture well, so the tubers will dry out quickly.
11. Carefully inspect each tuber before planting. Damaged or scratched ones should be consumed first.

Video: beneficial properties of earthen pear

Jerusalem artichoke owes its origin to North America, and its name to the local Jerusalem artichoke tribe, which cultivated it for a long time and successfully. At the beginning of the 17th century, the French traveler Samuel Champlain introduced this vegetable to Western Europe, and only by the middle of the 18th century did it begin to be cultivated in Russia. However, it has not received widespread popularity and distribution among farmers (and even amateur gardeners) to this day.

But it’s completely in vain. Both the tubers and leaves of the plant are very rich in iron and silicon, folic acid, and for people with diabetes it can be just a godsend. Inulin contained in the roots allows you to completely replace artificial sweeteners for diabetics. Ground pear, Polish walnut, Peruvian aster - these are all synonyms for Jerusalem artichoke.

The advantages of cultivation on a production scale are considered to be its excellent frost resistance (down to minus 40 ° C), drought resistance, and adaptability to almost any type of soil, except solonchaks. The above-ground part is an excellent food for animals, and a wide variety of preparations for the winter can be made directly from Jerusalem artichoke.

How to prepare Jerusalem artichoke for the winter - recipes for canning and freezing

When fresh, carefully washed and dried earthen pear tubers last no more than a month, and then they very quickly lose moisture. The best option in this case would be to freeze the Jerusalem artichoke in the freezer. Dry roots are packaged in separate plastic bags and frozen for the winter. They are then placed in a container of cold water to thaw before use.

Before harvesting, peel the selected roots and place them in a container with water. This way they will be even juicier.

To prepare the salad, take 1 kg of Jerusalem artichoke, 0.5 kg of onions and carrots. We clean and cut them. Then prepare the marinade: add 40 g of salt, black pepper, 50 g of table vinegar per liter of water. Boil for 5–7 minutes. Vinegar can be replaced with one lemon, cut into slices with skin. Pour the boiling mixture over the vegetables placed in sterilized jars, pasteurize for 15–20 minutes at 90 °C and close tightly with lids. To give the dish a more piquant taste, you can add 2 tbsp to the marinade. spoons of honey.

The salad can also be prepared without marinade, but the preparatory work will take a little more time. Ground pear, onion, carrots in the same proportions are finely chopped or grated on a coarse grater, salted, lemon grated with zest is added to the mixture and left for some time (about 12 hours) until the juice is released. Then they are put into containers and preserved. If you want to add some spice, you can add one hot pepper to the mixture.

Delicious preparations and unusual recipes

Pickled Jerusalem artichoke will also be delicious. In order to preserve iron and potassium in the vegetable as much as possible, it is carefully washed, but the skin is not cut off. It does not affect the taste in any way, only the color of the dish itself may not be a very beautiful grayish shade. Cut the tubers into thin slices and place them in jars, enamel or ceramic containers. Fill with saline solution - you will need 40 g of salt per liter of water. Cover the containers with lids and leave in a cool place until the end of fermentation. After about 2 weeks, pickled Jerusalem artichoke can be used as a side dish for fish dishes, added to vinaigrettes and salads.

Jerusalem artichoke jam is a very unusual dessert, the recipe for which is quite simple. You will need:

• washed and peeled pear tubers – 1 kg;
• peeled pumpkin – 1 kg;
• lemon – 1 pc.;
• sugar – 250 g.

Mix the chopped ingredients and wait until the juice is released. Then bring the resulting mass to a boil. The future dessert should be cooked for no more than 5 minutes, after which we pour the jam directly from the stove into pre-prepared jars. Next is the standard procedure for sealing with metal lids. The dessert should cool in a warm place. In winter, it is very tasty and healthy to use this jam as a filling in yeast pies. If you have any leftover pumpkin during the process, cook it – another representative of healthy cuisine!

If you like dried fruits, you can also prepare them from ground pears. How to dry Jerusalem artichoke correctly? You can place thinly sliced ​​peeled vegetable slices in the oven on a baking sheet and leave for several hours at a temperature of 70 °C. Or place the pieces cut into slices near heating radiators indoors for several days. Then put them in linen bags and use them with tea or coffee.

The healing and nutritional properties of Jerusalem artichoke make it very valuable for amateur gardeners. And the sweet-spicy taste provides many options for use in various dishes and canning.