DISPATCHES FROM THE FARM

We also grow Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus), a tasty relation to the sunflower. Although delicious and nutritious, they aren't extremely well known vegetables, so I decided to explain a little about these knobbly little gems below...

  

You can actually see a resemblance to the sunflower plants from the foliage of our Jerusalem artichokes above,

however, the actual artichoke is a tuber growing under the soil. When they flower, the flowers look like miniature sunflowers and like the sunflower, it is a member of the daisy family - a lovely way to end summer/start autumn before their eventual harvest. They are a root vegetable which grow similarly to potatoes and look a bit like a knobbly, pink-skinned ginger (I'll post pics. of the flowers and tubers as this current crop progresses ). They have a sweet, nutty flavour reminiscent of a cross between potatoes and water chestnuts.

Jerusalem artichokes are also called the 'sunroot' or 'sunchoke' and originate in the U.S.A.. They were first cultivated by the Native Americans long before the arrival of the Europeans.

Despite its name, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relation to Jerusalem, and it is not a type of artichoke either. The origin of the name is uncertain.   I've read that Italian settlers in the U.S.A. called the plant 'girasole', the Italian word for sunflower because of their resemblance and it is speculated that over time the name 'girasole' may have been corrupted to Jerusalem.  

I do apologise for no blog posts for a couple of weeks...but we have been flat out harvesting then attending to the post harvest care of your garlic - curing, cleaning, braiding, trimming, weighing, posting...I am still 'under the pump' but anticipate posting a decent length missive for you after the weekend.

Thanks for your patience :)

After harvesting it (pulling it from the ground), we get it out of the sun quick smart (in batches as we go) and then start hanging it in bunches, under cover but well ventilated and not too warm, to air dry and basically cure for the next couple of weeks or so. 

Curing takes about 2 weeks for the loose bulbs if all goes smoothly, but some variables can occur during the curing process that lengthen the time it takes, such as too much hot and humid weather. Too much heat seems to halt the garlic's drying process, as if it's self-regulating how quickly it cures and too much air moisture (humidity) obviously just keeps things damp and slows drying. We do our best to work with this sort of thing such as employing various methods to increase aeration and minimise damp and heat accumulation and adaptations in preparing it...just looking after our babies really. If garlic is not cured properly and is ultimately sent out too 'green/wet', it is at great risk of 'sweating' and can then start to mould or rot and is also prone to easy bruising...all of these impacts will mean the end product is of lesser quality and won't keep as well for as long. 

The garlic used for the braids or plaits is air-dried for only a few days before cleaning and then plaiting. Once plaited, the garlic can continue to derive nutrients from the intact green stalks and finish it's full curing phase.

   

After curing, we remove the stalks from the bulbs and clean the garlic up of all dirt and loose, dry skins, trim the dried roots and finish all the bulbs off with gentle scrubbing to remove remaining debris and dirt - all important for the final inspection process, ensuring top quality bulbs go out and maximising shelf-life of your garlic too.