# Tell me about Chestnuts



## GB (Dec 18, 2005)

I have heard of chestnuts all my life. I have heard the songs during the Christmas season and everything, but until this year I have never had them. My FIL roasted some and gave my wife a few to give to me. I loved them. Today I was at the supermarket and saw a bin so I decided to buy some. I cut and x on top and put them in a roasting pan. Set the over to 325 and roasted them for 30 minutes. They were delicious! I am hooked. They are unlike any nut that I have ever tried before. What can you tell me about them? Also, I did a search here before I cooked them and came across a thread that said they should be roasted on a rack. What is the reason for this? I did not use a rack and it worked just fine. Why is the rack needed?


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## buckytom (Dec 19, 2005)

i often buy big bags of chestnuts, checking each one that the meat inside is solid and fills the soft shell, not squishy.

and just to re-vist some old levity:

then i stand in my doorway, bragging about how good they are.

thus, i have chestnuts, boasting in an open foyer.


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## middie (Dec 19, 2005)

bucky... have you been dipping in a little too much egg nog there buddy ?


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## pdswife (Dec 19, 2005)

bucky... you're tooooo funny!
Thank you!


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## Ishbel (Dec 19, 2005)

When I was a girl, my dad used to put chestnuts on a garden shovel and roast them in the fireplace!  

You can still buy roast chestnuts from street-sellers in London, I adore the smell of the roasting nuts on the air....  YUM.

My husband loves chestnut stuffing - but to be honest, I normally buy a tin of chestnut stuffing during visits to France and store them in the cupboard until Christmas - he's the only one who eats the stuff.


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## Piccolina (Dec 19, 2005)

buckytom said:
			
		

> i often buy big bags of chestnuts, checking each one that the meat inside is solid and fills the soft shell, not squishy.
> 
> and just to re-vist some old levity:
> 
> ...


 Hilarious Bucky, thank-you for the noon hour chuckle, it was much needed 


I love chestnuts too GB, how cool that you're just stumbled upon this culinary gem. I think that they are gorgeous on their own, roasted as you did, and also introgated into recipes like soups, pasta, rice and stuffings (they are a classic brussel sprout accompaniment too, especially when you toss in some bacon - this is something of a timeless flavour trio). My very favourite way to eat chestnuts though, has to be as part of the Italian dessert "Montebianco".


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## urmaniac13 (Dec 19, 2005)

We also love them.  I bet they know how good they taste and try their best to protect themselves well, starting with those spiny outer shell, and then they are a bit of a hassle to prepare... but are so worth the work put in once you conquer them!! 

Aside from roasting, we make some great dishes after steaming them (We use a pressure cooker), they are great with brussel sprouts, mushrooms and many other veggies...  Also make delicious stuffing for turkey!!

This is one of our favourites.  Mont Blanc  (see message #5)


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## mish (Dec 19, 2005)

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f30/chestnuts-nutshell-16165.html?highlight=chestnuts


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## Jikoni (Dec 22, 2005)

Ishbel said:
			
		

> When I was a girl, my dad used to put chestnuts on a garden shovel and roast them in the fireplace!
> 
> You can still buy roast chestnuts from street-sellers in London, I adore the smell of the roasting nuts on the air....  YUM.
> 
> My husband loves chestnut stuffing - but to be honest, I normally buy a tin of chestnut stuffing during visits to France and store them in the cupboard until Christmas - he's the only one who eats the stuff.



I love chestnuts. It brings life into christmas just before christmas, but Ishbel, you have given me a great idea, to introduce my kids into eating them, maybe we should roast them in the fireplace. I am even game for the garden shovel. they kids will think it's so not allowed and think 'wow lets try it' and the house will be smelling of chestnuts....mmmmmmmhhhhhhhh!


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## Cherry2000 (Dec 22, 2005)

I love chestnuts, but I am a real wuss when it comes to roasting and shelling them.

I confess: I just go to Williams Sonoma and buy them in the jar. They taste great, and I don't have sliced up fingers.


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## buckytom (Dec 22, 2005)

a good rocking chop with a chef's knife should go right through, halving them. then it's easy to scoop out the meat.

it wouldn't be the holiday season in nyc without (angry, suicidal) street vendors selling charcoal roasted chestnuts in little brown paper bags.

one dolluh, one dolluh, no coke, pessi.


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## mish (Dec 22, 2005)

buckytom said:
			
		

> it wouldn't be the holiday season in nyc without (angry, suicidal) street vendors selling charcoal roasted chestnuts in little brown paper bags.
> 
> one dolluh, one dolluh, no coke, pessi.


 
& I'll throw in a genuine Rolex for 50 cents.


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## Constance (Dec 25, 2005)

I have never even seen a chestnut...they don't have them around here.


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## Dove (Dec 25, 2005)

[FONT=verdana, geneva, helvetica]*Chestnut history*[/FONT] 
Probably one of the first foods eaten by man, the chestnut dates back to prehistoric times. The chestnut tree, _Castanea sativa,_ was first introduced to Europe via Greece. The majority of the chestnut trees currently found in America are of native European stock, but Native Americans feasted on America's own variety, _Castanea dentata,_ long before European immigrants introduced their stock to America. In 1904, diseased Asian chestnut trees planted on Long Island, New York carried a fungus hitchiker that nearly devasted the *American chestnut* population, leaving only a few groves in California and the Pacific Northwest to escape the blight. Nowadays most of the chestnut food crop is imported from Japan, China, Spain, and Italy. Chestnuts are known as _marrons_ in France and some parts of Europe. 






 These starchy nuts are given to the poor as a symbol of sustenance on the Feast of Saint Martin and are also traditionally eaten on Saint Simon's Day in Tuscany. Legend has it that the Greek army survived on their stores of chestnuts during their retreat from Asia Minor in 401-399 B.C. Chestnuts contain twice as much starch as potatoes. It's no wonder they are still an important food crop in China, Japan, and southern Europe where they are often ground into a meal for breadmaking, thus giving rise to the nickname of "bread tree." 
Chestnut timber resembles its cousin the oak, in both color and texture, and is highly-valued. Also known for its tanning properties, the trees can live up to five hundred years and usually do not begin to produce fruit until they are forty years old. [FONT=verdana, geneva, helvetica]*Getting to the chestnut meat*[/FONT] 





 The chestnut fruit from the tree takes a bit of work to get to the nut itself. The nuts are encased in a spikey husk enclosure, with two to three nuts per each prickly burr. When mature, the fruit falls to the ground and are then shelled of the husk to get to the thin, smooth-shelled nut. Although we refer to them as nuts, the meat inside is soft and starchy, more akin to grains rather than crunchy like traditional nuts. It is the only nut primarily treated as a vegetable due to its starch content. The European varieties are a bit larger in size than the native American variety. Horse chestnuts (generally considered inedible) and water chestnuts are of completely different species. You will most likely be buying chestnuts already separated from the outer husk.


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## kansasgirl (Dec 30, 2005)

I am somewhat impatient, so I discovered that you can cook chestnuts very nicely in the microwave.  Cut an 'X' in the flat side, sprinkle with water, and cook in microwave on low power for about 3-3 1/2 minutes.  They do not have the fabulous roasted taste, but peel easily and can be used in any recipe.  Much faster than roasting!


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## mudbug (Dec 30, 2005)

kansasgirl, just had to pop in here and say how nice it is to see you back!


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## buckytom (Dec 30, 2005)

that's how i prepare them for my birds, kansasgirl. if i don't nuke them, they won't eat 'em, but rather just play around, eventually throwing them out of their cages.
i've tasted nuked chestnuts;   they really need the charcoal taste.


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