[Sca-cooks] Horchata - Barley Water

[Suey]

Adamantius wrote:

> What I'm wondering is whether the earthnut referred to above is the odern groundnut, or what Americans call peanuts...
>   
I have no idea what you mean by the word odern. My reply on 19 May 2007 
to whether hochata is made with the groundnut or peanuts was:
> No the scientific name for groundnut is Apios americana indicting that that is one of your products not one from the Mediterranean, peanut is Arachis hypogaea,  I am talking about what the Spanish call chufa, scientific name Cyperus esculentus translated into English as earthnut, earth almond or chufa. 
or chufa nut.

Lilianah by the way on 20 May 2007 wrote:

"Articles Archive.net says:
[http://food.articlesarchive.net/earthnuts-or-pignuts-conopodium-majus.html]

Earthnuts or Pignuts (Conopodium Majus)An edible tuber common in British woodlands." 

At that point used only the word chufa in my replies to avoid confusion 
about apparently the same name has been give to plants of different 
species and to distinguish the fact that chufas are not American or 
British.
In my message of 20 May 2007 I further explained:

"The chufa is grown in temperate countries where there are no frosts when planted in sandy silt soil. I have never heard of chufas in England. It seems here that the earthnut is a name used for two different plants. Font Quer, Pio. Plantas medicinales, El Dioscorides renovado. Barcelona: Ediciones Peninsula. 1999:657:922-925 and Usher, George. A Dictionary of plants used by man. London: Constable and Company Ltd. 1974:195 as many websites state the scientific name for chufa is Cyperus esculentus."

The rule of thumb here is that if the scientific name is not Cyperus esculentus we are not talking about the chufa that is used to make horchata in Spain today. Is this clear or do you still have a query? 
Suey