View source for Eleocharis dulcis

{{redirect|Water chestnut|Water caltrop|Water caltrop}}

{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Water chestnut
| image = Eleocharis dulcis Blanco1.15.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Poales]]
| familia = [[Cyperaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Eleocharis]]''
| species = '''''E. dulcis'''''
| binomial = ''Eleocharis dulcis''
| binomial_authority = ([[Nicolaas Laurens Burman|Burm.f.]]) [[Carl Bernhard von Trinius|Trin.]] ex [[Henschel|Hensch.]]
}}
[[Image:Wasserkastanie 2.jpg|thumb|240px]]
The '''Chinese water chestnut''' (''Eleocharis dulcis''; [[synonymy|synonyms]] ''E. equisetina, E. indica, E. plantaginea, E. plantaginoides, E. tuberosa, E. tumida''), more often called simply the '''water chestnut''', but not to be confused with the unrelated [[water caltrop]] which also goes by that name, is a grass-like [[sedge]] grown for its edible [[corm]]s. It has tube-shaped, leafless green stems that grow to about 1.5 metres high.

The Chinese water chestnut is native to [[China]] and is widely cultivated in flooded [[paddy field]]s in southern China and parts of the [[Philippines]].

The small, rounded [[corm]]s have a crispy white flesh and can be eaten raw, slightly boiled, grilled, pickled, or [[canning|tinned]]. They are a popular ingredient in Chinese dishes.  In China, they are most often eaten raw, sometimes sweetened.  They can also be ground into a [[flour]] form used for making [[water chestnut cake]], which is common as part of [[dim sum]] cuisine. They are unusual among vegetables for remaining crisp even after being cooked or canned. They do this because their cell walls are cross-linked and strengthened by certain [[phenols|phenolic compounds]], a property shared by other vegetables that remain crisp in this manner, including the [[tiger nut]] and [[lotus root]].<ref>{{cite book | author=McGee, Harold | title=On Food and Cooking (Revised Edition) | publisher=Scribner | year=2004 | id=ISBN 0-684-80001-2}} p. 308.</ref>

The corms are rich in [[carbohydrate]]s (about 90% by dry weight), especially [[starch]] (about 60% by dry weight), and are also a good source of [[dietary fiber]], [[riboflavin]], [[vitamin B6]], [[potassium]], [[copper]], and [[manganese]] <ref>[http://nutritiondata.com/facts-001-02s023g.html nutritiondata]</ref>

If eaten uncooked, the surface of the plants can transmit [[Fasciolopsiasis]].

==See also==
* [[Aquatic plants]]
* [[Water caltrop]]

==Notes==
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==External links==
{{commons|Eleocharis dulcis|Eleocharis dulcis}}
*[http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Eleocharis.html Porcher Michel H. et al. 1995 - 2020, Sorting Eleocharis Names. Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database - A Work in Progress. Institute for Land & Food Resources. The University of Melbourne (2004)]

{{vegetable-stub}}

[[Category:Cyperaceae]]
[[Category:Root vegetables]]