Thursday, March 28, 2019

Tiger Nuts - An Edible Sedge






 Tiger nuts before and after soaking



As a youngster I enjoyed nibbling on tiger nuts. I remember them being a bit of a treat with a taste resembling almonds and coconuts and a look of a tiny wizened potato the size of a peanut. It appears they are now included in the ever increasing list of superfoods. But their story way goes back to a time before marketing. 

Tiger Nuts
Also known as chufa (Cyperus esculentus), is one of the very small number of edible sedges which made up about 80% of our Palaeolithic-period ancestors diet around two million years ago  ( A Palio diet is a thing today too which entails eating lots of fruit/vegetables and grass fed meat ). 

Not Nuts
Tiger nuts are not actually nuts; they are underground tubers formed by grass from the sedge family. The Egyptians appreciated their sedges. One of them is papyrus, from which they made the world’s first paper and tiger nuts have been found in Egyptian tombs from around 6,000 years ago. 

Food Supplement
More recently tiger nuts were a mainstay in the war and offered a slightly sweet treat something a little different for the palette other than dried eggs.  They were popular up to the 1950’s era of post war rationing and were even seen as a treat for children, and could be bought at the sweet shop up until the early 70’s. But Like many ‘war foods’ that were associated with the ‘Hunger Winter’ that followed and leaner, harder times, they fell out of fashion. Until now. 

They are an ideal snack for people as they are allergy-friendly(not nuts) ,gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, suitable for vegans, vegetarians and a host of other groups. Livestock enjoy the top growth as well.

I used to eat them raw with the skins on but you can buy pre-skinned ones and there’s also a flour option. The favoured way to eat the tuber, grown predominantly in Spain is to soak them overnight to soften them up. I might need to do that now as my teeth aren’t what they used to be.

New Plants
I’ve decided that Tiger nuts are to be my “New Plant of the Year” to grow. I have received a kilo of grade A tubers through the post this week, you can get lower grades but they are generally used for bait in fishing and can contain maggot damage.

The grass can be a pest is actually a really invasive weed in some countries so I’m going to grow mine in containers for now. One plant can produce hundreds if not thousands of small tubers but probably ne here as our growing season is a lot shorter than Spain. I think the variety I have should be killed off by frost so I don’t think it’ll take over the garden. I’ll chop the young seed heads off before they mature as well to limit any spread.

Growing Tiger Nuts
Tigernuts (Chufa tubers) have a notoriously poor germination rate so I’m sowing mine under cover in a propagator with bottom heat until they germinate and I can then transplant them into large tubs of quality organic compost in the tunnel giving them space to grow.
I’ll keep them fed and watered using a seaweed feed with rainwater before moving the  pots outside as the plants develop and the weather warms.
It’ll be a labour of love as the will need looking after until the first frosts later in the year.  That’s the right time to harvest the ‘nut’ bounty.
When the tops die off, the tubers can be unearthed from the roots under the plant. They can be cleaned and eaten raw or added to daily meals, smoothies, salads or just as a snack. 

Drink
There’s a traditional drink we can make too which entails first hydrating one cup of tiger nuts by soaking them in water for 24 hours. Then bland the hydrated tiger nuts into a paste, adding water as needed before straining the tiger nut liquid thoroughly through a sieve. Add four cups of hot water and blend until desired consistency is achieved. This can be sweetened to taste. I prefer just to chew on mine and if you can’t be bothered clearing up after all of that, Sainsburys’ sell Tigernut milk.

Healthy option
Chufa tubers are very nutritious, with twice the starch content of potatoes and plenty of vitamins and minerals. Full of fibre and rich in Vitamin C, Iron, Zinc, Copper, Potassium and Magnesium have things to help the digestive system. They are also rich in vitamin E and contain a hard to digest starch so you feel fuller for longer. 

They also store very easily: once dried they keep indefinitely.

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