Dried Tiger Nuts

✨ Dried Tiger Nuts — the Sweet Little Tuber of Habb el Aziz

Tiger nuts are known in Arabic and Darija as حب العزيز (Habb el Aziz, often written Hab l’3aziz), in French as souchet comestible, amande de terre or noix tigrée, in Spanish as chufa, and in English also as earth almond or yellow nutsedge. Their scientific name is Cyperus esculentus. Despite the name, they are not nuts at all: they are small tubers that grow on the roots of a grassy sedge. Each one is about the size of a chickpea, with a ridged, striped, golden-brown skin and a firm white flesh. Dried, they are hard and chewy; soaked, they turn tender and crunchy, with a gentle sweetness reminiscent of almond, coconut and chestnut.

🌿 Traditional and Cultural Uses

Tiger nuts are one of the oldest cultivated foods of the Mediterranean and North Africa: they were grown in ancient Egypt and have been found among the offerings placed in Pharaonic tombs. In Morocco and across the Arab world, حب العزيز was traditionally sold by herbalists and nut sellers as a fortifying food. Grandmothers soaked it for family members recovering their strength, and in folk tradition it was prized as a nourishing treat for newlyweds and for men’s vitality. Its sweet, filling flesh also made it a favourite nibble for children and guests. In Valencia, Spain, the same tuber is pressed into horchata de chufa, the famous chilled summer drink.

🍵 How to Use

• 🌰 As a snack: soak in water for 12 to 24 hours, rinse, then eat by the handful
• 🥛 As a drink: blend soaked tiger nuts with water and strain into a plant milk
• 🥣 As a topping: chop or grind over yoghurt, porridge or fruit bowls
• 🍪 In baking: grind into a naturally sweet flour for cakes, biscuits and pancakes
• 🍯 In sweets: pair with honey, dates or sesame in homemade treats

🥣 Recipe: Tiger Nut Horchata

1. Rinse 250g of tiger nuts and soak them in plenty of water for 12 to 24 hours.
2. Drain, rinse again and place them in a blender with 1 litre of fresh water.
3. Blend for two to three minutes until smooth and milky.
4. Strain through a fine cloth or sieve, squeezing out all the liquid.
5. Sweeten to taste with sugar or honey, add a pinch of cinnamon or a strip of lemon zest if you like, and serve well chilled.

The leftover pulp can be dried and added to cakes or breakfast bowls.

🧾 Ingredients

100% dried tiger nuts (Cyperus esculentus). Nothing added.

🔬 Product Profile

• 🌱 Plant: Cyperus esculentus, sedge family (Cyperaceae)
• 🌍 Grown in warm regions of North and West Africa and the Mediterranean
• 🟤 Form: whole dried tubers, unpeeled, with their natural ridged skin

📦 How We Sell Them

Whole dried tiger nuts, available in 100g, 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg.

🌤️ Storage

Keep in a sealed jar or pouch in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and humidity. Stored well, dried tiger nuts keep for about a year. Once soaked, keep them in the fridge and eat within two to three days; homemade horchata is best drunk within two days.