If Sunchokes Produce More Than Potatoes, Why Don't We Eat Them?

Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, can out-yield the average potato field, survive brutal frost, and grow with almost no care. So why is the potato one of the biggest food crops on Earth while the sunchoke is a garnish at fancy restaurants? In this video we dig into the real reasons. There’s inulin, the carbohydrate your body can’t digest, which turns sunchokes into a feast for your gut bacteria (and explains the gas). The tubers also store terribly, cling to their roots at harvest and come back as weeds the next year. In WWII France, sunchokes became a symbol of hunger under occupation. And in 1980s Minnesota, a sunchoke “miracle crop” scheme promised to end America’s dependence on foreign oil and left farmers with piles of rotting tubers. It’s a story about food science, plant biology, farming economics and history, and why being easy to grow isn’t enough to become a staple food. Timestamps: 0:00 The plant that grows itself 0:53 Maybe it tastes bad? 2:01 Inulin: why sunchokes give you gas 3:20 Why potatoes store and sunchokes rot 5:23 How WWII turned France against sunchokes 6:22 The 1980s Minnesota sunchoke scam 7:52 Why the sunchoke stayed wild References: Alternative Field Crops Manual: Jerusalem Artichoke (University of Wisconsin & University of Minnesota): https://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/Crops/... Jerusalem artichoke overview, history and naming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusal... McGill Office for Science and Society, Jerusalem artichokes and inulin: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/node/2002 Smithsonian Magazine, France Is Slowly Bringing Back Its “Forgotten Vegetables”: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-... AgWeb, Fleecing the Farm: How a Fake Crop Fueled a Bizarre $25 Million Ag Scam: https://www.agweb.com/news/business/f... Agweek, 1980s farm crisis and the Jerusalem artichoke “miracle crop”: https://www.agweek.com/business/1980s... Specialty Produce, Sunchokes (Frieda Caplan and the 1965 rebrand): https://www.specialtyproduce.com/prod... FAOSTAT global potato yields via Spudnik: https://www.spudnik.com/faostats-late...