Tiger Nuts

Tiger nut or tigernut (Cyperus esculentus L.) is an edible perennial grass-like plant native to the Old World, and is a lesser-known vegetable that produces sweet nut-like tubers known as “earth almonds” (Coşkuner and others 2002). Tiger nut is widely used for animal (feed) and human consumption.

Tiger nuts have many health benefits and high nutritional value. This is due to the fact that it is very rich source of dietary fibre. In fact, 30% of it is made of fibre which is more than that in most vegetables and fruits.

Tiger nut has been cultivated as livestock feed and for human consumption. It can be eaten raw, roasted, grated, baked or used for ice cream and beverage making.

In Nigeria, the tubers are consumed in their natural form and are eaten raw. Tiger nut is available in fresh, semi-dried and dried form in the markets. Despite the fact that it is a seasonal crop, it is available all year round in Nigeria as it has very good shelf life. There are mainly three varieties namely: black, brown and yellow, and only yellow and brown are readily available in the Nigerian markets. The yellow variety is preferred to all other varieties because of its inherent properties like its bigger size, attractive colour and fleshier body. The yellow variety also yields more milk, contains lower fat and higher protein and less anti-nutritional factors especially polyphenols.