Tiger Nut Milk

I'm a big fan of the Mexican agua fresca Horchata, a rice/almond based drink.  I recently decided to try the progenitor of Mexican Horchata,  Tiger Nut Milk aka Horchata De Chufa, Chufas are the tubers of a nutsedge plant.  Normally here in the U.S., Chufa's are used as wild game feed.  Turkeys, deer, and raccoons go crazy over them.  They are even used as carp bait.  In Valencia, Spain, the tubers are mashed/blended into a paste, soaked in water with a cinnamon stick along with some sugar, and then the liquid is strained and served chilled.  Chufa's are high in Potassium and Iron, with no Sodium. 

The toughest part is trying to find a source for the Chufa's.  You pretty much have to mail order them (unless you're in Michigan or Connecticut).  I chose Cyprus Knee Chufa, but you could also use Glendale Enterprises.   Pricing is fairly reasonable, but you have to order a minimum of 5 to 10 lbs. usually and the shipping charges can raise the final price a bit.

I followed this recipe for the most part, except I chose to cook the liquid a bit to extract out more of the cinnamon flavor.  I was pleased with the result, a thicker drink than what you would normally get at a restaurant, and perhaps a bit darker (some of which is due to the cooking).  The cinnamon wasn't overpowering, the drink smooth and sweet and about the color of a heavily creamed coffee.