I tried fermenting juiced sunchokes into alcohol one time. I’ve never seen anything ferment that fast, however when it was all done the resultant “drink” had a “dirt in a old boot” sort of flavor. I know that in some areas of the world it’s used to make a distilled spirit, so maybe that would have made it drinkable, however I didn’t have a still to test.
I also tried lacto fermenting them into pickles. Once again they fermented vigorously, but the resultant pickles were horribly sour and they made my teeth feel rough and gritty after just a few. The flavor wasn’t great either.
Interesting observation. I would guess it is because these do not contain starch, but rather some fructose sugar polymer and that probably favors different bacteria and yeasts in these processes.
I tried fermenting juiced sunchokes into alcohol one time. I’ve never seen anything ferment that fast, however when it was all done the resultant “drink” had a “dirt in a old boot” sort of flavor. I know that in some areas of the world it’s used to make a distilled spirit, so maybe that would have made it drinkable, however I didn’t have a still to test.
I also tried lacto fermenting them into pickles. Once again they fermented vigorously, but the resultant pickles were horribly sour and they made my teeth feel rough and gritty after just a few. The flavor wasn’t great either.
Interesting observation. I would guess it is because these do not contain starch, but rather some fructose sugar polymer and that probably favors different bacteria and yeasts in these processes.