On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 598
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OtherCommonRootsandTubers
ChineseWaterChestnutandTigerNutThe
Chinesewaterchestnutandthetigernut,or
chufa,arebothmembersofthesedgefamily,
agroupofwatergrassesthatincludes
papyrus.Thewaterchestnutisaswollen
underwaterstemtipofEleocharisdulcis,a
nativeoftheFarEastcultivatedprimarilyin
ChinaandJapan.(Hornedwaterchestnutsor
caltropsaretheseedsofspeciesofTrapa,
waterplantsnativetoAfrica,centralEurope,
andAsia.)Tigernutsaresmalltubersof
Cyperusesculentus,anativeofnorthern
AfricaandtheMediterraneanthatwas
cultivatedinancientEgypt.Bothtasteslightly
sweetandnutty,andbothareremarkablefor
retainingtheircrispnesswhencookedand
evenwhencanned,thankstophenolic
compoundsintheircellwallsthatcross-link
andstrengthenthem.TheSpanishmakethe
sweetdrinkhorchatadechufafromdried
tigernutsbysoakingtheminwater,grinding
andresoaking,straining,andaddingsugar.
InAsia,whereChineseandhornedwater
chestnutsaresometimescultivatedin
contaminatedwater,thesefoodshavebeen
knowntotransmitcystsofaparasitic
intestinalfluketopeoplewhoshellthemwith
theirteeth.Freshversionsshouldbewashed
andscrubbedthoroughlybeforetrimming
awaytheirtoughouterlayer,thenwashed
again.Abriefimmersioninboilingwaterwill
guaranteetheirsafety.
Crosnes,orChineseArtichokes Crosnes are
small tubers of several species ofStachys, an
Asian member of the mint family; they were
broughtfromChinatoFranceinthelate19th
century.Crosnesarecrispandtastenuttyand
sweet, something like a sunchoke. They’re
notable for containing an unusual
carbohydrate,stachyose,acombinationoftwo
galactoses and one sucrose. We can’t digest
stachyose, so a large serving of crosnes can
