Anybody remember Tiger Nuts@

[Jeannine]

I am not sure if this is the right place for this  but....

When I was kid I lover Tiger Nuts,hard little dried up things that tasted a bit like coconut. Well I have found some ,they were delivered today and I decided to find out more about them.

I knew they were not actually nuts,they are tiny tubers  and according to what I have read they are easy to grow.

Does anybody know anything growing  about them please,and did you eat them as a child(message to the oldies I think)

XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

[DadnDom]

If it's the same thing carp fishermen use them a lot as bait.
Caught me a few big un's in the past :)

[Jeannine]

Yes they are used for carp bait XX Jeannine

[quizzical1]

Here's a quote from a site called "Plants for a future"
http://www.pfaf.org/leaflets/altroots.php

Cyperus esculentus. TIGER NUTS are a noxious weed in the tropics, but are also a cultivated crop and can sometimes be found on sale in Britain. Plants grow about 2ft tall and prefer a sunny position in a soil that is on the wet side. Plants that I have grown have seemed to be quite hardy (forms of the plant have become naturalised as far north as Alaska) but yields have been disappointing so far. This is at least partly because I have been having problems getting the tubers to come into new growth in the spring. I normally harvest them after the first frosts have cut back top growth and then store them in moist sand in a cool frost-free place. In late March I pot them up and put them into a polytunnel, but they can take months before coming into growth and consequently do not manage to get in a full growing season. I am probably making some elementary mistake with the plant. but have yet to work out what it is. The tubers are small and rather fiddly but they have a delicious sweet flavour. They can be eaten raw but are very chewy unless soaked beforehand. Tiger nuts are unusual amongst roots in that they contain a relatively high level of oil and this is sometimes extracted and used as a high-grade food oil.

[manicscousers]

used to love 'em as a kid. probably get stuck in my teeth now, remember sticky lice? spelling..used to keep our teeth nice and clean  :)

[Jeannine]

I see you read the same google as I did. They are however easy to find as I have 2kg of them. I didn't find  much info on sowing them though. Hoping someone here had tried XX Jeannine

[quizzical1]

Jeannine, my guess would be that since they are a tuber, you would treat them like any other tuber when planting them. i.e. planting depth of around about the size of the actual tuber? Possibly presoaking may give them a bit of a kick?

[OliveOil]

they sound interesting - I'll look out for them.

[Jeannine]

 I'll bring them to the A4A meet!! Are you gonna try growing them? XX Jeannine

[Hyacinth]

good heavens! Yes, I remember them....thought they were a 'confection' ie a coconut made-up round sweet? AND we used to get them choclit coated 8)

Good luck with the growing - can we expect packets of them, festive-wrapped, at Christmas, then? :D

[ninnyscrops]

6d for a quarter pound  - I'm sure they were treated with something sweet then dried.
You star Jeannine - you'll have to open your sweety shop soon! 

[Jeannine]

Naw,,,these look like  brown dries marrowfat peas, they will crack you teeth if you ar not careful,yours sound much too posh. I'll take a picture for you XX Jeannine

[OliveOil]

I'll bring them to the A4A meet!! Are you gonna try growing them? XX Jeannine

Hehe I will if you will. ;D

[Jeannine]

Hey if we do well we could knock couchgrass and  bindweed off the top of the most wanted weed list!!!! XX Jeannine

[Tinkie_Bear]

I love tiger nuts - they usually have them in my local health food shop, yum yum yum. Never thought of growing them, interested to see how you get on.

Helen

[dingerbell]

I have such very fond memories of these. They used to grow semi-wild in Western Australia....probably naturalised immmigrants (like me). We used to eat them straight from the ground or if dried we used to soak them in water to rehydrate them and make them more juicy. never thought of growing them....you can buy them at my local Health shop..... :)

[HealerDave]

Tiger Nuts, wow! I'd forgotten all about them, (it's not my age, just a long time ago). Thanks for reminding me just sorry I can't help with your question. What you have also brought to my mind are Locust Beans, long sticky pods and we used to eat the lot.
we were on holiday in Cyprus a few years ago and on the way to the Troodos Mountains we stopped at a roadside cafe for a cuppa and there on the car park was a locust Bean tree! Tha ground under the tree was covered with the pods. My wife, who is younger than me couldn't understand why I was jumping up and down and doing somersaults!!
Memories.............

[dingerbell]

Locust Beans....are they Carob Beans which I know grow all over Cyprus.....used to make vegetarian chocolate and very Yummy too... ;D

[AKG_Emma]

The National Vegetable Society has an article on their website about growing Tiger Nuts: http://www.nvsuk.org.uk/growing_show_vegetables_1/tiger_nuts.php.

I wanted to grow them but I never found a supplier. I will have to go and check out my local health food shop at some point.

[Emagggie]

I had forgotten all about them too. I loved them as a child. I didn't realise they could still be bought.......next time I pass a health food shop... :P