Although they have no link to Jerusalem and look nothing like artichokes, the confusingly-named Jerusalem artichoke (also called sunroot, sunchoke, earth apple, wild sunflower, or topinambur) is a unique vegetable that comes into season late in Autumn.
With such a short season and limited availability in the supermarkets, you’re bound to be wondering, “Can I freeze Jerusalem Artichokes?”
Can You Freeze Jerusalem Artichokes?
Yes, you can freeze Jerusalem artichokes for up to 6 months. Give them a good scrub before blanching and then placing them into freezer bags. (**Full Instructions Below – Tips, Thawing, Etc**)
Do Jerusalem Artichokes Freeze Well? Yes
Can You Refreeze Jerusalem Artichokes? No
How to Freeze Jerusalem Artichokes
Follow the below steps for freezing jerusalem artichokes. You can adapt this for any shape or size you want to freeze them in:
- Prepare the Jerusalem Artichokes
Give the Jerusalem artichoke a good clean and scrub and then, optionally, peel them. You can then decide to cut your artichokes into chunks, halves, rings or leave them whole. - Blanch
Take your prepared Jerusalem artichokes and blanch in boiling water before dunking into ice-cold water to stop the cooking process. Whole artichokes should be blanched for 2 minutes, halves for 1 minutes and chunks or rounds for 30 seconds. - Spread Out on a Baking Tray
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper then spread the blanched artichokes out on the tray, ensuring none are touching. - Freeze
You can wrap the tray in a sheet of clingfilm to keep them protected before placing it into the freezer, keeping it as flat as possible when doing so. - Bag Up
After an hour or so, remove the tray from the freezer and you should have frozen Jerusalem artichokes. Pop these into a labelled freezer bag before sealing it up, removing as much air from the bag as you can. - Return to the Freezer
Finally, place the bag of frozen artichokes into the freezer until you next need a handful of two.
3 Tips for Freezing Jerusalem Artichokes
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing Jerusalem artichokes to have the best results:
Freeze as a Dish
You don’t have to freeze them plain and on their own. You can actually freeze them as part of a ready-made dish including soup, mash or even roasted with other root vegetables such as swede and turnip.
Give Them a Thorough Clean
With Jerusalem artichokes being so knobbly, dirt will hide in every and any crevice it can find. This is why it’s a good idea to give each Jerusalem artichoke a deep scrub to remove all the dirt. You may even need to break off some of the knobbly bits.
Blanch to Retain Flavour
Although it will take a little extra effort, blanching is well worth doing to help the Jerusalem artichokes to retain their flavour, nutrients, texture and appearance.
How Long Can You Freeze Jerusalem Artichokes?
You can freeze Jerusalem artichokes for around 6 months. They’ll remain safe to eat, in most cases, if you keep them in the freezer for longer than this.
The reason you should limit it to 6 months is to ensure the texture doesn’t degrade when you thaw and eat them. You don’t want mushy and bland Jerusalem artichokes in a few months time!
How Do You Defrost Jerusalem Artichokes?
The simple way to defrost Jerusalem artichokes is to remove the number you need from the bag you have used to freeze them and place them on a plate in the fridge overnight.
If you have cut them into chunks or rounds then they should only take 12 to 18 hours to defrost. If you have left them whole then they can take anywhere from 24 to 36 hours to thaw through.
Can You Refreeze Jerusalem Artichokes?
Yes, but it’s not recommended. You can thaw and refreeze vegetables only if they’ve been kept at or below refrigerator temperatures during thawing. It’s worth noting, with each repeated thaw and freeze, the texture of your jerusalem artichokes will become more and more damaged.
WARNING
There is an increased risk of foodborne pathogens if you refreeze partially thawed raw or blanched vegetables.
The exception here is if you have used previously frozen Jerusalem artichokes to then make a soup that you then want to freeze. In this case, you can refreeze those Jerusalem artichokes.
Do Jerusalem Artichokes Freeze Well?
As long as you blanch them and keep them stored in an airtight container or bag then Jerusalem artichokes will freeze particularly well.
Like many root vegetables (although it’s technically a tuber), you’ll struggle to tell that they were once frozen.
FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing Jerusalem artichokes or Jerusalem in general, then these may help:
Fresh Jerusalem artichokes will last for between 7 and 14 days in the fridge. They simply need to be kept in an open paper bag.
Yes, sunchokes can be frozen like Jerusalem artichokes as they are the same thing! A quick clean and blanch is the first step to freezing them before bagging them up and freezing them for up to 6 months.
Although it’s possible to freeze them without blanching, it’s not something we would advise. Blanching helps Jerusalem artichokes to retain flavour and nutrients.
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