Family Cyperaceae

Tigernuts are also known as chufa (Spanish) and earth almonds. They are the edible tubers of a weedlike grass native to warmer regions of the Northern Hemisphere. A popular culinary ingredient in ancient Egypt, tigernuts were later brought to Spain and are now cultivated in the province of Valencia, where they are the key ingredient in the locally popular milky beverage called horchata de chufas. The sweet, nutty tubers are dried after harvesting, resulting in a hard texture that can be ground into flour, as is done for horchata, or soaked in water and eaten as a snack. Tigernuts are rich in healthful unsaturated fats and packed with nutrients, including phosphorus, potassium, and vitamins C and E. Their high fat content makes them a viable source for oil production. Spanish company Tigernuts Traders, S.L. (www.tigernuts.com), is Europe’s largest exporter of tigernuts, and its Web site is a good source of information on the tuber.