Other Common Roots and Tubers
Chinese Water Chestnut and Tiger Nut The
Chinese water chestnut and the tiger nut, or
chufa, are both members of the sedge family,
a group of water grasses that includes
papyrus. The water chestnut is a swollen
underwater stem tip of Eleocharis dulcis, a
native of the Far East cultivated primarily in
China and Japan. (Horned water chestnuts or
caltrops are the seeds of species of Trapa,
water plants native to Africa, central Europe,
and Asia.) Tiger nuts are small tubers of
Cyperus esculentus, a native of northern
Africa and the Mediterranean that was
cultivated in ancient Egypt. Both taste slightly
sweet and nutty, and both are remarkable for
retaining their crispness when cooked and
even when canned, thanks to phenolic
compounds in their cell walls that cross-link
and strengthen them. The Spanish make the
sweet drink horchata de chufa from dried
tiger nuts by soaking them in water, grinding