What to do with Sun Chokes

Sun Chokes are a crop that our native populations relied upon for winter food. Their warty roots overwinter in the ground long after their sunflower-type bloom fades. By January when you're ready to start digging in again on that first sort-of-warm day, buried Sunchoke roots provide a mountain of fresh food, but what do you do with them? The two bucket loads shown on the left came from the Salish School Farm. You get a lot from a few plants.

They can be roasted, added to soups, their water chestnut-like texture grated into a salad, or sliced and SWEET PICKLED. The last option passes the bar food test, i.e. would a group of old guys drinking beer munch them down - and they do!

Sun Chokes are a pain to clean up which is why many folks don't bother with them, but if you wash off the majority of the soil, then slice on a mandoline 1/8 thick, the thin slices make it a breeze to wash off the remaining dirt. After that fill a 2 quart jar and add the below (hot) fast pickle juice to cover. Let them cool and enjoy.

P.S. This sweet pickle recipe also is great on cucumbers and red onion slices.