Though it looks like a simple grass, chufa is a perennial plant that belongs to the same family as that of papyrus. And its tubers are edible! These small roots taste somewhat like almonds, and their texture is a bit like that of coconut. Definitely original and very easy to grow, this vegetable deserves a space in your vegetable patch.
| Botanical name | Cyperus esculentus |
|---|---|
| Common name | chufa |
| Family | Cyperaceae |
| Type | perennial |
| Height | 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40cm) |
| Planting distance | 16 inches (40cm) |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | light, lots of humus, soft |
| Planting | beginning of spring |
| Harvest | beginning of fall |
Chufa asks for very little attention, but each task falls at a fixed moment of the year. Here is the whole cycle, from the autumn before planting to the tubers waiting in their pouches.
| When | What to do | Point to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Fall, the year before planting | Spread compost or well-rotted manure, then work the soil deep | Use a spading fork or grelinette rather than a spade, and add sand to heavy soil |
| Spring, just before planting | Rework the planting bed | Winter has already broken up the clumps for you |
| Mid-spring | Plant soaked tubers straight into the ground in mild-weather regions | Soak the dehydrated tubers 6 to 8 hours only, or they ferment |
| Late spring | Transplant the plants started indoors in nursery pots | Wait until the plants are vigorous and frost is over; space them 16 inches (40cm) apart |
| Mid-autumn and late autumn | Pull out the clumps with a spading fork and pick out each tuber | Wait until the foliage has dried out; watch for rodents attacking grown tubers |
| After harvest, until the following spring | Dry the tubers in the sun, then store them in small burlap pouches | Keep them in the dark; leftovers start next year’s crop |
Follow that calendar and the only real work left is deciding whether to eat the tubers raw, roasted or milled.
Even though growing it is easy, it does need a little care if you want a sizeable harvest. First of all, find a spot in full sun, because it loves heat. Before planting, you’ll need to get the soil ready.
Chufa loves light, soft soil that’s humus-rich. To bring these conditions together, follow these steps in the fall of the year before planting:
Work the soil quite deep, using a spading fork or a grelinette. It’s better to use these than to simply turn the soil over with a spade: do so destroys soil structure and kills underground animals.
First step is to soak the dehydrated tubers in water for 6 to 8 hours, no more. If any longer, they’ll start to ferment.
In other regions, it’s best to start growing chufa at the same date, but indoors.
To give them space to grow, space them well, about 16 inches to all sides (40 cm).
Chufa doesn’t require any specific care after planting. Indeed, it can cope with extended drought. Nonetheless, to increase productivity, you can water each plant on a regular basis, but only use a little bit of water.
Though diseases seem to have no impact on its growth, it isn’t the case for rodents. These might create problems for you at the end of the season, when they attack grown tubers.
Growing chufa in a large tub or other container with a closed bottom keeps its spreading tubers contained, whereas an open-bottomed raised bed will not reliably stop this invasive sedge from escaping.
Hoe or hand-weed between the young clumps while the shoots are still short, since chufa’s thin grassy leaves cast almost no shade and lose out to faster weeds early on.
Lift the clumps soon after the foliage collapses, since any tubers left in the ground can overwinter and resprout the following season, making chufa hard to clear from the bed.
Starting in Mid-autumn and late autumn, after the foliage has dried out, the time has come to harvest.
If ever you have any left over at the end of winter, use the tubers to start a new crop!
How do you eat chufa? Chufa roots can be prepared in many ways:
Scrub each tuber under running water before eating it raw, because grit lodges in the wrinkled folds.
Dried chufa is rock hard, so soak the tubers overnight in fresh water before eating them raw or blending them for horchata.
Home-made horchata keeps no more than a couple of days in the fridge and settles, so shake it before pouring.
Chufa flour is naturally gluten-free, which makes it useful in coeliac baking, though it binds poorly on its own and is best mixed with other flours.
