✦ Exceptionally high resistant starch
✦ Prebiotic gut bacteria food
✦ Iron, magnesium, and potassium
✦ Sweet coconut-like flavour
Tigernuts (chufa) are not nuts at all but small tubers of Cyperus esculentus, a sedge plant. They are exceptionally high in resistant starch (a prebiotic fibre that feeds beneficial gut bacteria), provide useful iron, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin E, and have a naturally sweet, coconut-like flavour. They are the traditional base of Spanish horchata de chufa.
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Preparation note
Eat dried tigernuts as a chewy snack (soak 24-48 hours to soften); blend soaked tigernuts with water, cinnamon, and a little sweetener for homemade horchata. Their resistant starch makes them filling despite being relatively high in carbohydrate.
Sources:
CoFID 2021
Where Tigernuts Stands Out
Macronutrients per 100g
1,685
kJ
Energy
4.30
g
Protein
45.7
g
Carbs
11.7
g
Fibre
23.8
g
Fat
16.1
g
Sugars
4.00
g
Saturates
0.00
g
Salt
Vitamins & Minerals
| Nutrient | Per 100g | % Daily Value* | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phosphorus | 210 mg | 30% | |
| Calcium | 48.0 mg | 6% | |
| Potassium | 14.0 mg | 1% | |
| Vitamin C | 6.00 mg | 8% | |
| Iron | 3.20 mg | 23% | |
| Niacin (B3) | 1.10 mg | 7% | |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.230 mg | 21% | |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.100 mg | 7% | |
| Vitamin D | 0.000 µg | 0% | |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 0.000 µg | 0% | |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.000 µg | 0% | |
| Monounsaturated fat | 16.4 g | — | |
| Polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) | 2.20 g | — | |
| Sucrose | 16.1 g | — | |
| Glucose (dextrose) | 0.000 g | — | |
| Fructose | 0.000 g | — | |
| Cholesterol | 0.000 mg | — | |
| Beta-carotene | 0.000 µg | — | |
| Retinol (vitamin A) | 0.000 µg | 0% |
* % Daily Value based on EU Nutrient Reference Values (NRVs). — indicates no EU NRV established.
Primary data source for this entry:
McCance & Widdowson's Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID 2021), Public Health England. Source record tag: CoFID 2021.
All values are per 100g fresh weight unless stated.
% Daily Values based on EU Nutrient Reference Values (NRVs) per Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.
Nutriofia is a research and information resource — nothing on this page constitutes medical advice.
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