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Chufa sedge "Nut grass"
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Chufa (Tiger Nut, Earth Almond, Yellow Nutsedge) - Cyperus esculentus.
Sweet nutty flavor. An incredibly healthy and high-yielding crop.
A fast-growing, unpretentious annual crop native to the subtropics. Small tubers 2-4 cm long, forming on the roots of the plant, are used for food. They are highly nutritious and have a pleasant sweetish taste with an almond note. In temperate climates, several dozen tubers are formed on each bush, and in favorable conditions – up to 400 pieces! They are eaten raw, perfectly suited for stewing, frying, baking, and store well all winter.
Outwardly, chufa resembles wild sedge: the bush has a height of 40-80 cm and consists of narrow, stiff leaves. As they grow, the shoots close together and form a beautiful continuous green carpet, which will become an additional decoration of the garden.
Sweet nutty flavor. An incredibly healthy and high-yielding crop.
A fast-growing, unpretentious annual crop native to the subtropics. Small tubers 2-4 cm long, forming on the roots of the plant, are used for food. They are highly nutritious and have a pleasant sweetish taste with an almond note. In temperate climates, several dozen tubers are formed on each bush, and in favorable conditions – up to 400 pieces! They are eaten raw, perfectly suited for stewing, frying, baking, and store well all winter.
Outwardly, chufa resembles wild sedge: the bush has a height of 40-80 cm and consists of narrow, stiff leaves. As they grow, the shoots close together and form a beautiful continuous green carpet, which will become an additional decoration of the garden.
* Cultivation Agrotechnics
Chufa is unpretentious, so it is easy to grow in a cool climate. It is not demanding on soils, but it gives the maximum yield on light, loose, and fertile lands. It prefers open sunny spaces and needs regular watering.
Planting: For planting, select medium-sized tubers (1.0-1.5 cm) and soak them in water (preferably rainwater or melted snow) for 2-3 days without using growth stimulants. Plant in open ground in mid-May when the soil warms up to +13...+15°C. A seedling method is also possible: sowing indoors in March-April, transplanting outdoors in late May - early June.
Tubers are planted in holes of 2-3 pieces to a depth of 3-5 cm.
Care: The vegetation period is 140-150 days. When the plants reach 15–20 cm, they are hilled up to 2/3 of their height. Repeated hilling is carried out after 3-4 weeks. Except for weeding and watering in drought, no special efforts are required.
Harvesting: The crop is harvested in late September - October, immediately after the leaves turn yellow and dry out (usually after the first frost). The bushes are dug up and the tubers are shaken off. The nuts are dried in the open air, cleaned of soil, and stored in a cool, dry place.
Culinary and Medicinal Uses
The use of the earth almond is surprisingly diverse. It produces a valuable oil that is not inferior to olive oil. An aromatic beverage replacing coffee or cocoa is brewed from roasted and ground tubers. Chufa is added to baked goods, candies, chocolate, and halva to give them a nutty flavor, as well as to main courses.
Doctors and nutritionists highly value the healing properties of chufa:
* Adding earth almonds to food strengthens the immune system, improves brain activity, and increases stamina.
* The product is recommended for diabetes, as it helps to lower blood sugar levels.
* The famous Spanish drink "horchata" (milk made from ground nuts and water) is beneficial for the gastrointestinal tract.
* A tincture of chufa leaves tones the body similar to ginseng root.
* The plant helps cleanse the body and remove radionuclides.
* Important: Chufa is extremely high in calories (about 607 kcal, containing 32% valuable fats and 28% sugars). Therefore, despite all the benefits, people with excess weight should consume it in moderation.
