Types of tiger nut: peeled, dried and fresh

Before buying tiger nuts or the different tiger nuts products we offer, you must be very clear about what type of recipe you want to make, or how do you want to consume it, and thus choose the one that best suits your needs.

It is important to know the origin of the tiger nuts you are purchasing. We recommend Valencian tiger nuts with Denomination of Origin, which are only, and exclusively grown in 16 regions of L’Horta Nord of Valencia. The Regulatory Council of the Chufa from Valencia supervises all the growing and processing steps so having their certificate is a guarantee for the highest quality. 

Valencian tiger nuts are an edible tuber that grow on the roots of the Cyperus Esculentus plant and is considered a superfood for its properties and its great nutritional content.

While Valencian Tiger Nuts are grown small-scale farms in a few little towns north from Valencia but its uses and benefits are much more extensive. Here we tell you in what ways you can find this rich and nutritious tuber with Valencian quality seal.

Horchata (tiger nut milk) is the most common way to use tiger nuts, a very popular drink in the Mediterranean diet, which is obtained by grinding the tubers, pressing the paste and adding water.

But horchata is much more than the refreshing summer drink, since it is one of the vegetable milks that brings more benefits to our health. It does not contain gluten, fructose or lactose, so it adapts to all types of diets, and is ideal as a substitute for milk of animal origin. In addition, there are many university studies that show the benefits that tiger nut milk brings to our health when we include it our diet.

It is the smallest way in which we can find this tuber. It is obtained after the grinding whole tubers and can be sieved to achieve different particle sizes.

Many bread, pastry or pastry makers use tiger nut flour to make all kinds of sweet and savory preparations (breads, biscuits, cookies, cakes, etc.)

As we spoke in previous posts, it is the best way for celiacs to be able to consume all kinds of products, by replacing flours with gluten with tiger nut flour, since it does not contain that protein, and is suitable for all diets and intolerances.

Being naturally sweet it allows you to bake without sugar or at least, using less amount of it. This makes tiger nuts an awesome ally when trying to reduce sugar intake and go for a more healthy lifestyle. Further more, its high fiber content will make you feel full.

Dried tiger nuts or chufa as we know them in Spain, are the raw material from which make the rest of products in this post. This tuber (in its dehydrated form) has become a delicious and sweet snack, perfect to consume between meals. Well, it has satiating properties and very few calories!

The process that must be followed to achieve high quality dry tiger nuts is long and delicate, since after harvesting and washing, they must remain for more than three months in our drying facilities known as “cambras”, where they are daily removed so that they lose their moisture in a homogeneous way and, over time, acquire that sweetness that characterizes it. After this curing process, Valencian tiger nuts, is mechanically and manually sorted to finally achieve an exceptional product.

Tiger nuts are peeled by scraping the outside of the tuber mechanically, so that it remains organic and healthy. Thanks to this process, part of the skin is eliminated and we obtain an easier food to consume.

Peeled chufa maintains all its nutritional properties of the raw material, and also enhances its natural sweet taste. You have to be careful with your consumption because it hooks! The positive? As it is such a healthy food it can be present in all types of diets.

This type of tiger nuts will be prepared depending on the recipe you want to make as we can cut and chop the tiger nuts in different sizes and shapes. All retain the properties of the tuber and is recommended for all types of recipes.

In the high restoration we usually find the chopped or sliced tiger nut as part of the decoration in the presentation of the dishes; also as a dressing in salads, or even as supplements in desserts, yogurts, milkshakes, etc. Chopped or sliced tiger nuts can also be used for breakfast or snacks, in the form of delicious granolas along with nuts or your favorite fruit. Without a doubt, a delicious way to bring energy!

Now you know the different ways to eat Valencian tiger nuts beyond the famous horchata. Include tiger nuts in your diet in any of the mentioned formats and benefit from this superfood.