I saw these things for sale (with the multiple nick names of Bat Nut, Buffalow
Nut, Buffalo Horn Nut, Devil Pod, Black Buffalo Horn Nut, and Horn Nut and the
warning that they were toxic if not cooked) at the local Korean Market. After
an internet search, I learned the real name: water caltrops. What follows is
EVERYTHING that I was able to find on this interesting edible. LOL I thought
you guys might find them interesting.



They are the seed pod of an Oriental aquatic plant. China and India have been
cultivating them for over 3,000 years but they can be found also in Asia and
Africa. They are toxic if uncooked. There is a furry tuff at the top of the
bull¹s head and they do have a bit of a strange odor.



Eat the Devil « Cheap Ethnic Eatz: Cover them in water and some salt, bring to
a boil and simmer for 25-30 minutes. Let them rest another 20 min. Then crack
them open (very bad but as I read the easiest is with your teeth) and enjoy
their chestnut like taste and texture. They taste like a cross between chestnuts
and water chestnuts, maybe even a bit like Brazil nuts, but with a starchy
texture. They can be added when cooked to rice and vegetable dishes.


Catherine Jones Cooks

There was one other food Peter brought that morning that was completely new to
me Š and I must admit that I get incredibly excited when I discover a totally
new and exotic food. It¹s called water caltrop, also known as a buffalo nut, bat
nut , or devil pod. These ornate,
perfectly-combed-mustache-or-bull¹s-horn-shaped nuts have been cultivated in
China and India for at least 3,000 years. In China, they have been used a prayer
offerings since the Zhou Dynasty. Today, these aquatic nuts are harvested and
sold in the markers. For celebrations, they are boiled for about 30 minutes,
cooled, and the hard black shell is cracked open with a pair of pliers. The
taste and starchy texture of the cooked seed inside resembles that of meaty, dry
water chestnut.

Water caltrops are harvested once a year in the Zhejiang province of China, as
well as in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, and India. To harvest
these nuts, whose stems can reach down 15 feet, women float around the paddy in
plastic tubs.