About The Jerusalem Artichoke

• The Jerusalem artichoke, also known as a sunchoke, earth apple, topinambur or sun root, is a tuber of the sunflower family. It is indigenous to the eastern United States. It is found wild and is also cultivated as a crop for its potatolike tuber, or root vegetable. The plants are tall and rangy, resembling a small sunflower. The tubers can be harvested, boiled and eaten like potatoes, but have a crunchier texture and a sweet, nutty flavor. The tubers are are high in potassium, iron and fiber. Jerusalem artichokes are also grown as a source of fructose, and have recently been found to have a great potential for the production of ethanol fuel.
  
  

Fermentation Processes

• The fermentation process of Jerusalem artichokes begins with collecting and cleansing the tubers. The tubers are crushed and pressed, and the juices are collected. The juices are fermented under anaerobic conditions (functioning without oxygen) using brewer's yeast. Then conversion enzymes are used to turn the starch in the juice into sugar. It is much like the process for making vodka. You can make your own conversion enzymes using a malted grain starter. After the tuber sugar is fermented into ethanol, a fractional distiller is needed to purify the product. The liquid produced is clear and colorless. The process is time-consuming, and it would take thousands of pounds of tubers to produce enough usable ethanol for farming purposes. In Thailand, batch fermentation processes for Jerusalem artichokes are in use, with the ability to produce greater quantities of usable ethanol; however, successful production for use as a gasoline replacement has been limited.
  
  Unites States Patent Number 4400469 describes a new method of obtaining ethanol from the Jerusalem artichoke plant. In this method, the plant sugars are extracted from the plant stalks before reaching the tubers and directly fermented into ethanol. This process requires exact harvesting to insure the greatest amount of sugars remaining in the stalk. The method is purported to produce the highest yield of high-grade usable ethanol per acre of plants.
  
  

Other Uses

• In addition to ethanol, butanol can also be produced from Jerusalem artichokes. In France, the tuber has been used for centuries to produce beer and wine products. The plant is also used as livestock feed.