Carp Food Connoisseur: Tiger Nut Extract

1 Very rich in...

“This dense sweet liquid is otherwise known as ‘tiger nut milk’ or ‘Horchata’ in Spain, and to put this small tuber into perspective, the tiger nut was first cultivated many thousands of years ago. In fact, tiger nuts have been found in the tombs of pharaohs, a bit of a far cry from modern-day carp angling! Certainly tiger nut milk was being produced as a medicinal drink thanks to being rich in minerals and also vitamins C and E, a high content of oleic acid and the enzymes amylase, catalase and lipase.”

2 How to store it...

“There are numerous forms of tiger nut extract available in the Mediterranean regions, but we tend to have just the one imported for carp fishing purposes, this being the extract where no water has been added. This T.N.E. has a shelf-life of approximately two years unopened whilst stored at temperatures below 25şC. Once opened it must be kept refrigerated otherwise it will turn rancid very quickly. Other T.N.E.’s available are: condensed, natural, pasteurized, sterilized, and U.H.T.”

3 How it's made

“The tiger nut concentrate is produced under very specific conditions starting at the selection point of the tuber, which is then thoroughly washed, after which it is steeped in germicide, before being washed thoroughly again. After this process, the tiger nut is hydrated with water, a process lasting several hours. The next process involves more water being added before the tubers are pressed and the resulting thick milky liquid sieved. Finally, this liquid is transferred to the mixing plant where sugar is added. As this liquid is a natural product (no preservatives are added), the product is either kept at very low temperatures prior to bottling or even frozen.”

How to... get more from Tiger Nut Extract

1 “One of the most overlooked uses is actually as the liquid attractor in a sweet nutty base mix and then made into boilies. If you use a nice coarse mix with tiger nuts in you really do have something a tad different to the rest. Include 20 to 50ml per kilo.”

2 “Being a natural product means you really can’t over do T.N.E. so if you really want to glug up your freebies then this is a distinctive edge. The best method is to pour it liberally over a kilo of baits after they have been removed from the freezer. They will then be sticky, cloudy and they just find them irresistible!”

3 “Being PVA-friendly this is one of the best liquid additives to use neat and with just the hookbait, as small fish come into the area they will make the milky cloud rise into the lower water column, further sending out the sweet tasting liquid and attractive properties of the T.N.E.”

4 “Again, due to its characteristics, this is a margin angler’s dream liquid to use. Put a small bed of carp feed out and then liberally pour the nut extract over it using a roach pole cup. Again, the cloud which suspends and hovers will do the attracting visually as well as chemoreceptivelly.”

5 “When it comes to Stick, Method and spod mixes there can be no question that they will be enhanced with the sweet Tiger Nut Extract. In spod mixes it really does work well with the extra-added water, creating a rich plume, which again hangs about in the water column, giving it that extra dimension.”

6 “It goes without saying that T.N.E. is brilliant when used with tiger nuts themselves. Add to the bulk tigers after cooking and also soak a handful of tigers
in the neat extract and use these for hookers. Brazils, peanuts and maples also benefit from the treatment.”

7 “One real edge is to add a liquid Talin product to 200mls of it. This seems to further enhance the natural qualities of the product. You can also add hemp oil to it and this will provide another dimension for suspension and attraction. Mix it well prior to application.”

8 “If you already have the tiger nut extract and Talin mix, then use it as a neat bait soak, and where it really does seem to come into its own is in the winter months. Again, the sweetness easily dissolving into the water producing attraction.”

9 “Use it in a paste form incorporating almond nut flour, tiger nut flour, roast peanut granules, sweet vanilla, honey and of course the liquid tiger nut extract. You can achieve a paste that will breakdown easily and very quickly or quite slowly depending on what you want to achieve.”

10 “Obviously there are dedicated products like CC Moore’s own Live System Weedbeater Mix or Solar’s Growler Bag Mix that really are taken up a level when tiger nut extract is added or used as the main liquid, it just shouts come and eat me! A real nice bag of goodies to feed ‘em.”