Chufas
Sep 9
Written By Mark Minguillon
As a child growing up in Zaragoza in the 1960s, all the kids in the neighborhood played outside, given that we lived in apartments. We would play soccer and other games in the parks and walkways outside.
One of the things that my friends and I used to like to do was to frequent the little kiosks (not much more room than for an individual to stand in) from which you could purchase a kid’s delight called “Chufas”.
Chufas or Tiger Nuts
What are Chufas you ask? Well, they are not common here in the States, but in Spain, they were very popular, especially with the younger generation of kids.
In English, Chufas go by several names, including “earth almond” and “tiger nut”. Regardless of its name, we would go to the various kiosks scattered throughout our neighborhood and order Chufas, which vendors would place into a rolled-up newspaper cone.
The chufa has an earthy, nut-like taste (hence the nickname earth almond).
Chufas were introduced into Spain by the Moors and it is primarily grown in the community of Valencia and in eastern Spain.
They were delicious and cheap to buy, we would chew on them all day as we played ball or hide and seek.
And if you were adventurous, you would ask your mother to crush the chufas and strain the mash to produce horchata, a milky drink that we would enjoy after running around outside with friends.
The Spanish horchata should not be confused with the Mexican one. Horchata from Spain is made with the “tiger nut” where as the horchata from Mexico is prepared with rice.
In any case, horchata is a refreshing drink with a mildly sweet taste and creamy, smooth texture, the Spanish version being more nut like in its taste, were as the Mexican version tastes more like the milk from a rice pudding.
In any case, enjoy a glass of Spanish horchata, if you haven’t tried it yet!
