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Jerusalem Artichokes

Jerusalem artichokes simmered with stock and butter, finished in a demi‑glaze and served with bread.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Jerusalem artichoke and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 116 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Jerusalem Artichokes

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Prepare the artichokes as for steaming.

  2. Make a mirepoix (minced vegetables) for braising.

Braise

  1. Place the artichokes on the mirepoix and steam for 5 minutes.

  2. Add enough stock to almost cover the mirepoix.

  3. Cover the artichokes with buttered paper and place a lid on the pan.

  4. Simmer gently on the stove for 20 minutes.

  5. Transfer the pan to a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) and continue cooking for 20 minutes.

Finish and serve

  1. Remove the artichokes, strain the gravy, and skim off the fat.

  2. Reduce the gravy to a demi‑glaze consistency and pour it around the artichokes.

  3. Alternatively, serve the artichokes on toasted or fried bread.

  4. Thicken the gravy with 2 teaspoons of flour mixed with ⅓ cup of stock, bring to a boil, coat the artichokes, and serve immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Jerusalem artichoke + flourtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together116 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Jerusalem artichoke + buttertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together267 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl decanoate (grape, waxy).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Jerusalem artichokes
Form the main body of the dish, cooked until tender through steaming and braising.
Stock
Provides the liquid for braising and the base of the gravy.
Flour
Thickens the gravy so it coats the artichokes.
Butter
Covers the artichokes as they braise, adding richness and moisture.

The step that matters

Thickening the gravy with flour. Flour mixed with stock before it goes in keeps it from forming lumps, and boiling it briefly activates its thickening starch so the gravy coats the artichokes.

Swap the jerusalem artichoke

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter):

  1. Shallotfits about as well
  2. Jerusalem artichokethe original
  3. Leekfits about as well
  4. Arrowrootfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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