Sunchokes...GI problems

[gfweb]

There were about 15 people at TG dinner. The host served roasted Jerusalem artichokes. I avoided like the  plague, but everyone else gobbled them up. I said nothing.

 

One (maybe two) of the 15  had several trips to the john.

 

I was watching.

 

Looks like inulin sensitivity is not universal, which is interesting given that people can't break it down. Different gut flora perhaps?

 

 

[Lisa Shock]

There's probably some correlation between what happened and the amounts each individual consumes on average in their normal diet.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

@gfweb,

 

I was watching a rebroadcast of "A Chef's Life" S4 E8 "All Sunchoked Up" with Vivian Howard today. She addresses this issue. If the chokes do not get hit with several hard frosts, the flatulence factor renders them, if not inedible, extremely regrettable. It's been too unseasonably warm, at least here, for them to become something one wants to eat in polite company right now.

 

Sorry I couldn't provide a link. It seems UNC PBS has become much less generous with their free episodes of the show now that her book has taken off so solidly.

 

But yeah, you're right about folks gut bacteria. If they are not used to eating much fiber, certain things can be er... problematic.

 

There is a funny account from Kerry Beal on here somewhere about regretting eating sunchokes and hanging out outside while on a shift at a hospital or clinic. I doubt she will be a fan and future consumer of even properly frosted ones. If you're not growing these sunflower related tubers yourself or from a trusted farmer, it's probably not worth the risk.

 

It makes me wonder if short stints in the freezer alternated with fridge visits could render grocery store ones flatulently harmless?

Edited November 25, 2016 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Last winter/spring I bought a package of these at the local Shoprite.  I was glad to try them but I had to purchase an awful lot for one person.  Fortunately I did not have too much trouble.

 

Then again being one person I had no one but myself to offend.

 

[Lisa Shock]

I personally have never had any issues. But, I am a vegetarian and regularly eat more vegetables than the average american. -I eat beans 4-5 times a week, and lots of onions (onions are also a good source of inulin).

[blue_dolphin]

2 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

If the chokes do not get hit with several hard frosts, the flatulence factor renders them, if not inedible, extremely regrettable

A friend gave me a bunch of them from her garden here in So Ca not long ago.  No hard frosts here but also no ill effects for me.  

[chromedome]

McGee played around with them at length, somewhere along the way (I don't recall which book or column). His end recommendation was to roast them low-and-slow (200°F for 8 to 10 hours). 

 

I don't usually have any issues with them, and in fact just got four or five pounds from my father's garden. I don't know how they'll work for my GF and her daughter, though, so I'll be cautious.