Sunchokes: The Ultimate Prepper Survival Food
“Keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.”— Helen Keller.
The sunflower should be the symbol of preppers and survivors, and it’s the unsung hero that every prepper should grow, know how to recognize in the wild, and use. Helianthus comprises about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae. Except for three South American species, the species of Helianthus are native to North America and Central America, but they now grow around the world.
In this blog, we will take a look at Helianthus tuberosus. Its common names are sunroot, wild sunflower, earth apple, Canadian truffle, and Jerusalem artichoke. The tuber of this plant can commonly be found in some grocery stores, and it is sometimes referred to as a fartichoke. The taste is similar to that of artichoke hearts, but it derives this slang name because of its high amounts of inulin. When the tubers are stored for an extended period, this inulin will convert to its component fructose. Still, inulin is only digestible by gut bacteria, hence the gas that it sometimes causes.
I will show you how to grow, harvest, and cook the sunchoke to reduce the gassy effect. I will also freeze-dry some and make it into pasta. Let’s explore this ultimate of prepper plants.
GROWING & HARVESTING
The first thing to know about this plant is that it grows wild in almost any soil. Colonists first brought it and other sunflowers back to Europe, and it now extends around the world. Its tuber roots are prolific, and it will take over whatever garden plot you put it in to start. One planted acre will yield almost 9 tons of tubers…
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