These beautiful, shiny brown nuts start showing up in piles in the fall and winter. I never had chestnuts growing up - they just weren't a staple in my household. The first time I had them was in Paris. As I walked across a bridge crossing the Seine, there was a man with a roasting cart selling hot roasted chestnuts by the bag. I bought a bag and wandered around the streets of Paris peeling of the shells and chewing the sweet nuts.
Seasonal Spotlight: Chestnuts
Chestnuts must be cooked before eating to kill off the tannic acids that make them bitter. They are enjoyed in Asian and European cuisine, and have been making a comeback in to American cuisine in the last few years.
At one point, chestnut trees grew profusely across the US, but some Asian chestnut trees planted in Long Island in the early 1900's brought with them a fungus blight that decimated nearly all of the American chestnut trees by the 1950's. Only a handful of trees survived in California and Washington. Replanting efforts that started in the 1930's continue today. The surviving genetic material from American chestnuts was crossbred with disease-resistant Asian chestnuts and these are the chestnut trees we see today. The American chestnut industry is still bouncing back, and since demand exceeds supply, the US still needs to import chestnuts from Europe and Asia.
Residents of the San Francisco Bay Area can pick chestnuts locally at a number of chestnut farms that are listed in this link.
Roasting chestnuts at home is incredibly easy. Simply score an "X" shape on the flat side of the nut shell, put in a cast iron skillet on the stove, and shake back and forth until the shell at the "X" starts to peel and the chestnut meats are warm and soft inside. Canned chestnuts are especially good for purees and desserts. Peeled chestnuts stored in vacuum sealed packages are great for stuffing, breads, and risotto.
Chestnut Recipes:
Chestnut Stuffing - Saveur
Braised Pork with Chestnuts - About.com
Chinese Turkey with Eight-Treasure Stuffing - About.com
Chestnut Cheesecake - Epicurious
Chestnut Soup with Sourdough Sage Croutons - Epicurious
Chestnut Risotto with Butternut Squash - Epicurious
Related:
Word of Mouth: Marron Glacé
(Image: Kathryn Hill)
Comments (7)
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I'm thinking about trying out the sausage and chestnut dressing that was on the Food Network thanksgiving special.
And fantastic photo, Kathryn!
view Stevi Deter's profile
I've heard that the chestnuts that grow in Europe produce a much sweeter nut than grown in the US?
view cara_mia's profile
I've never met a chestnut that i liked. They're always kind of mealy inside... is that how they should be, or have i just been eating sub-par chestnuts?
view mh330's profile
Bittman's Mushroom and Chesnut Pasta. http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/recipe-of-the-day-pasta-with-chestnuts-and-mushrooms/
Awesome!
view sweetpotato's profile
I roasted chestnuts in the oven a few winters ago. I took special care to cut the "x" in each one, but we had quite a disaster when some of them literally exploded in the oven, and even on the counter 5 minutes after I took the tray out! I'm scared to try this again...
view Capricorn Pig's profile
Do they sell chesnut puree at regular grocery stores? O'd like to try the chestnut cheesecake, but I live in North Dakota and we have no specialty stores...
view Staar84's profile
mh330 I think there are different kinds of chestnuts... I've had chestnuts out of the country that are sweet and tender and last year decided to try to make my own.
The first batch I made they were mealy and a little bland...it probably would've been good in a savory dish. My boyfriend who knew I was on a chestnut mission but didn't know i had already bought some....brought me another bag. So I gave it another try and they were sweet and tender!
Comparing it side by side, my first batch the chestnuts were really large and thicker skinned than the second batch which were easier to peel and quite a bit smaller. I suspect they're different since there are european/american/chinese/japanese chestnuts....but both bags were simply labeled chestnuts.
Cutting X's in them is a little difficult...there's gotta be an easier way of doing it. I had 2 blow up....it's rather unnerving....after I took them out i put a sheet of foil over it and waited till they were fully cool fearful of additional explosions.
view a6sinthe's profile