The tiger nut has a sweet, almond-like flavor. Tiger nuts were a food staple eaten in ancient Egypt. Today they are most commonly eaten in parts of Africa, Europe, and the Mediterranean.
It may be eaten either raw or cooked, though in Western markets they are often only available for sale in a dried or ground form rather than raw. Common tiger nut health food products include tiger nut flour, which can be used for baking, and dried raw tiger nuts, which can be eaten as a crunchy snack.
It have been used in traditional medicine for years, but their health benefits have gone largely unstudied by scientists. As tiger nuts are studied more, it’s likely more health benefits will be uncovered due to tiger nuts’ vitamin and mineral content.
Although more research is needed, one initial study shows that tiger nut extracts have antibacterial properties. These extracts are particularly effective against E. coli, S. aureus, and Salmonella sp in a petri dish environment. The study was not a human trial, however. Future research is required to determine whether eating tiger nuts provides any protection against those particular bacteria.
Some people claim that tiger nuts positively affect the male sex drive. However, this has yet to be proven scientifically, so this claim is speculative at best. Rat studies have determined that ingesting tiger nuts increases male sexual behavior  and decreases sperm abnormalities in rats.
In both their raw and ground forms, tiger nuts contain vitamins C and B6, as well as iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium, and calcium.
