View Full Version : Loads of chestnuts
Hi all,
Managed to collect nine and a bit pounds of sweet chestnuts in a bit of opportunistic forraging today. Some will be roasted (very soon :wink:), some will go to make HFW's sweet chestnun puree. Any suggestions for the rest?
Cheers
David
beachlover
16-10-2004, 19:52
Chestnut soup
1lb Chestnuts
1pint milk
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 Onion
1/2 pint veg stock
2 tablespoons oil
Boil chestnuts for an hour in water then remove skins and puree with liquidiser, adding some stock.
Dice onions up fine and fry in oil, then add to stock
add the chestnut puree
simmer til it thickens add half the milk and simmer for another 5 mins, then add the rest, stir frequently and add spices, salt and pepper and simmer for another half an hour or so, perhaps liquidising again according to personal preference.
Said to be a main course, so dont do it before Sunday lunch or the missus will never forgive you!
they make THE BEST stuffing!! :biggthump
Said to be a main course, so dont do it before Sunday lunch or the missus will never forgive you!
Sounds good,
I do 90% of the cooking (Sarah most of the baking) so no problem there!
Cheers
David
beachlover
16-10-2004, 21:37
Glad to here it and know there are other blokes like me!
We had the kitchen fitters round this year and they insisted on talking to the other half about the design and couldn't cope when she told them it was me who used it not her!
Think they were a bit suspicious to start with!
Sarah made me a nice new kitchen a few weeks ago!
I can't get enough roasted chestnuts, but that soup sounds great...
I had some chestnuts given to me in syrup a while back, they were lovely, but not sure how to prepare them... :?:
Foraging is great :biggthump
http://hellzteeth.com/images/chestnuts.jpg
As an after thought...
BBC Recipe Site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/)
Just enter 'chestnut' and hey presto! Chestnut recipes :biggthump
Hellz
beachlover
16-10-2004, 22:02
Well, I know we are going a bit off topic now, but I gotta say I can see why you are in love!
Moonraker
16-10-2004, 22:32
Nice forage dtalbot :biggthump
Check out this web site. It is an American farmer producer of chestnuts and they have lots of very good info.
Chestnuts Online (http://www.chestnutsonline.com)
Do check out the 'COOKING' section and especially how to properly prepare roast chestnuts, processing/ storage and a great recipe page here:
Chestnuts Online - Recipes (http://www.chestnutsonline.com/recipes.htm)
Because sweet chestnuts do not last well they recommend storing them in a plastic bag with holes cut in it and a moist cloth on top and kept in a cool humid place. More detail on link above.
We are lucky around here because they are found in nearly every hedgrow and there are 'Chataigne' woods with just sweet chestnuts growing which used to be fed to the pigs. I read in a book by Eric Newby the travel writer, 'Love and War in the Apennines' that they literally lived off them during the war in the Apennine mountain region of Italy. Sadly the woods are now going over as they no longer bother with the nuts or the pigs. But local people certainly get out and pick lots. They make a wonderful 'Crème de marrons' and very good with vanilla ( real of course!) flavour. Can't find a recipe or too late to ask around, sorry :cry:
I am going to make some flour from the ones I have got to use out and about. Chestnuts are unusual for nuts in that they are low fat (1% I think) but really high in carbohydrates which is good for us bushcrafters where it is tough to find from wild plant sources. The flour is best mixed with normal flour only up to 20% for baking bread as it affects the ability of the wheat flower to prove properly. But it is used 100% for some pastries and other foods in Italy. And for Marrons glacé of course :wink:
You may not know and nor did I until I guy showed me whilst fishing the other day that they are fine to eat raw :-) Just make sure you remove the pellicle (secondary downy skin underneath the hard shell) which is bitter by scrapping off. Really nice actually as a snack and when you don't have a fire handy for roasting. And also they are one of the best sources of a natural sweet taste :lol:
Simon
Paganwolf
17-10-2004, 17:52
heres my nuts :shock:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1081.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/jlamour1/Picture1093.jpg
Piccie of my haul in the gallery now, along with the crabapple (well some of it) jelly from a couple of weeks ago. Green tomato chutney done today, sloe and damson gin and vodka on the go, more CAJ to do still along with the picked onions, chestnut puree and no doubt loads of other things from the mellow fuitfullness of the season.
Still waiting for the first frost!
Cheers
David
my mate was asking if sweet chesnuts were conkers ??? im sure they are
No sweet chestnuts are not conkers, Horse chestnuts are conkers. The outer casing of a Sweet chestnut is spiny and relatively thin, whereas the horse chestnut has a thicker outer casing which has shorter stubbier blunter spikes.
You would also notice the difference as soon as you bit into one :wink:
Moonraker
20-10-2004, 18:10
my mate was asking if sweet chesnuts were conkers ??? im sure they are
They are actually member of different plant families .
To avoid confusion check out the indentification links to each (SAPS (http://www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/trees/) is a great site for identifying British, European trees with from leaves, winter twigs etc :biggthump ):
Sweet Chestnut - Castanea sativa (http://www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/trees/aesculus.htm)
http://www.hainaultforest.co.uk/Fruit%20chestnut.jpg
----------------------
Horse Chestnut/ 'Conkers' - Aesculus hippocastanum (http://www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/trees/chestnut.htm)
http://www.hainaultforest.co.uk/Fruit%20conker.JPG
Neither are native trees but naturalised introductions.
Finaly apparently a chant used before engaging in a game of 'Conkers'! Very British :). I never heard of it but......
Obly, obly-onker
My best conker
Obly, obly O,
My best go.
In Britain you can tell a 'Conker' tree because in the Autumn it is the one kids are throwing big sticks up into apparently in search of an invisible prey :approve: In France zillions of hug fat conkers just lie on the ground. My kids just can't resist such treasures, and nor can I :wink:
Simon
Sweet Chestnut,
Is a very good survival food, not as sweet as our European variety, but is high in complex carbohydrates, low in fat and protein.
Horse Chestnut,
Is not really edible, although is a good food source if it is properly prepared. Prolonged soaking to remove the bitter tannins.
Frogo
Paganwolf
20-10-2004, 18:39
sweet chestnut nice to eat,candied,roast,pureed,used as stuffing Mmmmmmmm :wink: horse chestnut good for playing conkers and errr making little conker men and errr :?: :rolmao: Both woods are lovely to carve though, chestnut burls can be huge and when worked look amazing!
Moonraker
20-10-2004, 19:38
Sweet Chestnut,
Is a very good survival food, not as sweet as our European variety, but is high in complex carbohydrates, low in fat and protein.
Horse Chestnut,
Is not really edible, although is a good food source if it is properly prepared. Prolonged soaking to remove the bitter tannins.
Frogo
What do you mean about "not as sweet as our European variety" Frogo? I missed the other sort you refer to. In America the natives, 'American Chestnut' (Castanea dentata) and 'Chinkapin' Castanea pumila were decimated by disease brought in by exotic species from China. Replanting was done with hybrids with the Chinese varieties as they had some resistance to the diseases. Also in Europe. You referring to these?
I would not say that Horse Chestnut is a 'good' food source. It is basically starch after processing. It was used for feeding to animals after processing although pigs apparently would not touch the stuff. One reason for the name. 'Horse' Chestnut. The other is the horse shoe shape of the leaf base and on the scar left on the wood.
Care should be taken with preparation to ensure the saponins are removed which are toxic to humans and domestic animals. Incidentally it is the saponin that gives the leaves their soap-like property which I seem to remember Ray Mears demonstrating once.
Sweet Chestnuts are certainly one of the best foraging sources of carbohydrate and nice raw too ;-)
What do you mean about "not as sweet as our European variety" Frogo? I missed the other sort you refer to. In America the natives, 'American Chestnut' (Castanea dentata) and 'Chinkapin' Castanea pumila were decimated by disease brought in by exotic species from China. Replanting was done with hybrids with the Chinese varieties as they had some resistance to the diseases. Also in Europe. You referring to these?
I would not say that Horse Chestnut is a 'good' food source. It is basically starch after processing. It was used for feeding to animals after processing although pigs apparently would not touch the stuff. One reason for the name. 'Horse' Chestnut. The other is the horse shoe shape of the leaf base and on the scar left on the wood.
Care should be taken with preparation to ensure the saponins are removed which are toxic to humans and domestic animals. Incidentally it is the saponin that gives the leaves their soap-like property which I seem to remember Ray Mears demonstrating once.
Sweet Chestnuts are certainly one of the best foraging sources of carbohydrate and nice raw too ;-)
The Sweet chestnut that grows on the continent has a longer ripening period due to the summers being longer, as are not.
Horse chestnuts, are starch, what are carbohydrates???
Frogo
Moonraker
21-10-2004, 13:18
The Sweet chestnut that grows on the continent has a longer ripening period due to the summers being longer, as are not.
Yep. It is the longer, warmer climate which provides the prolonged ripening season. The naturalised tree is the same species though to that which grows in Britain, Castanea sativa. many different varieties are grown commercially.
Horse chestnuts, are starch, what are carbohydrates???
Carbohydrate comes in various forms including glucose, fructose, cellulose and starch , and these exist in all plants. The digestibility of the carbohydrate varies between these forms.
The reason I would say the horse chestnut nuts/ conkers are not 'good' food is because the time and effort required processing them to render them safe (by removing the toxic saponins notably aescin) and it also removes pretty much all the valuable vitamins and minerals at the same time. More detail:
The seed is quite large, about 3cm in diameter, and is easily harvested. It is usually produced in abundance in Britain. Unfortunately the seed is also rich in saponins, these must be removed before it can be used as a food and this process also removes many of the minerals and vitamins, leaving behind mainly starch. See also the notes above on toxicity. The seed contains up to 40% water, 8 - 11% protein and 8 - 26% toxic saponins
source: Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985
This is also mentioned on the BBC web site:
Conkers, unlike the seeds of the sweet chestnut, are not easily edible, as they contain poisonous saponins, along with aescin, which can cause vomiting and paralysis. They can be rendered safe by crushing and leaching with water, or by slow cooking, but the remaining food is largely starch.
source: BBC - h2g2 - Horse Chestnut Tree (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A608717)
The native American Indians would render them harmless by slow-roasting the nuts and then cutting them into thin slices, putting them into a cloth bag and rinsing them in a stream for 2 - 5 days.
So sure, it could be considered an emergency food source but not one you would look to generally. There are quite a few herbal uses for the plant and as a soap as mentioned above.
Now sweets chestnuts are a different story ;-) There is a very good breakdown of their nutritional value here:
Nutritional Value of (Sweet) Chestnuts (http://www.chestnutgrowers.com.au/eating_chestnuts/page12.php) Dried chestnuts appear an ideal way to store and carry chestnuts (and as flour although it goes rancid quickly).
You may also consider it's use in an emergency situation to help gather other food source; fish! Plants containing high levels of saponins such as horse chestnut have been (and are still used in some regions of the world notably the Amazon rain forest by indigenous tribes) as fish poisons. They have a much lower tolerance to the chemical than humans hence this use. In fact although fishing using poisons is understandably banned in most countries, I know this method has been used in recent conflicts in former Jugoslavia to feed soldiers and give them a valuable source of protein (another plant was used on that occasion).
Simon
Anybody know the shelf life of a sweet chestnut...I picked up absolutely loads today and would like to keep them for a bit. I noted the plastic bag with holes in option...anybody else any further advice?
Tantalus
11-11-2004, 20:27
i guess cool dark and dry are the things to aim for kim
i am not a fan of plastic but recommend paper bags if you can get them
fruit and veg can leave condensation on the inside of plastic, which can help rot get into whatever you are storing faster than it would otherwise
alternative, spread them out in a smallish cardboard box like you can pick up free in the supermarket to put your groceries in
Tant
Paganwolf
11-11-2004, 20:47
or keep them some where cool and dry, perhaps pack them in dry sand in a box a layer of sand, nuts, then topped with sand, other edibles can be stored this way , veggy's, nuts ect ive got some in an old sack in my shed which are ok..
Sorted chaps, just found all I need on the good old internet!!
Peel them, boil for a couple of minutes and eat while still warm...remember to eat fast before someone else finds out how good they taste!!
Sorted chaps, just found all I need on the good old internet!!
Any good links to share?
Tantalus
11-11-2004, 22:26
Sorted chaps, just found all I need on the good old internet!!
:hmmm:
arent you even gonna tell us? :shock:
:rolmao: Tant
He he...just followed the internet links posted earlier on this thread and entered cooking sweet chestnuts...on google.com.
Simple, but effective! That's my weekend sorted, cooking it is then.
Hi all :)
I eat them raw ;)
Ok, ok. They're better roasted over an open flame (frying pan with holed punched in it) or better yet in hot ashes/coals, in the middle of nowhere.
Over here, we call those trees "Arbre à pain", meaning "bread tree". That's because people used to make flour out of the chestnuts (still done in some regions). It gives a very good, nutritive bread.
Cheers,
David
Moonraker
14-11-2004, 00:11
I tried them raw too for the first time recently whilst fishing for brochet when my friend showed me. That's what I love about the French, they still know many ways to eat most anything :o):
In fact he showed me to remove the pellicle (the downy inner skin) first which is bitter. It tasted very good I have to say.
We have some chestnuts here which I want to make into flour. Only problem I find that if you are not quick there are worms that eat the whole dam bag and also they do not last and go off quickly unless stored cold.
There is a good site with lots of info on them here:
Chestnutsonline.com (http://www.chestnutsonline.com)
One of the photos I posted in the other photo thread was of our village going out to collect châtaigne around here. Nearly all the village kids were there and lots of families too. We picked over 10kg and then they were roast right away over oak fires with people just eating them off the table with greedy fingers :-) Of course there was some nice cider to wash them down with :lol: Here are some photos which really make me happy to think of both young and old experiencing food for free from nature.
Everyone out for a lovely sunny Autumn day in the woods collecting chestnuts. Everyone is having fun.
http://www.planetluna.org/graphics/fam-chataigne_muret_01.jpg
This is a photo of my son and a friend carrying over 10kg of chestnuts back using a wooden pole I cut for them. I was amazed at their determination to carry it over 1km back! Give kids a challenge and they usually respond :wink:
http://www.planetluna.org/graphics/fam-chataigne_muret_02.jpg
The chestnuts are usually cooked like this in a metal cylinder with holes in it (maybe the inside of an old washing machine) over oak logs and turned every so often until perfectly cooked. Again the kids can't stay away from helping out.
http://www.planetluna.org/graphics/fam-chataigne_muret_03.jpg
And the final reward for the efforts. Piles of freshly roasted hot chestnuts being eaten right off the table. The shells are ripped off and hot chestnuts popped into the mouth for that sweet, moist floury mouthful of taste.
http://www.planetluna.org/graphics/fam-chataigne_muret_04.jpg
Actually most of the sweet chestnuts here were planted to feed the pigs up until the 2nd WW. There are still small stone huts where they used to dry the nuts in the autumn and feed the pigs in the winter. I bet the ham tasted wonderful! Sadly as with a lot of old practice that way of farming has all but gone but everyone goes out and forages in the autumn for all sorts of things which is good.
Do you have similar local events David up with you? Or maybe other people do this in their villages?
Finally some info on Sweet Chestnut flour which really shows what a good food it is:
CHESTNUT FLOUR
Botanical Family: Sapindaceae Also known as Farina dolce (in Italy)
Description: Milled from dried and roasted sweet chestnuts (Castanea sativa). Main European source is Italy (Piedmont).
Nutrition analysis / 100g: Protein 5.2g Carbohydrate 57.4g Analysis/100g Fat 1.0g Fibre 22g
Useful source of: Vitamins C, B1, B2, Protein, Fibre.
Good Qualities: Nutritionally useful source of flavour and texture in gluten-free baking. Used in distinctive regional recipes (eg castagnaccio), sometimes on its own and sometimes with wheat flour. Naturally sweet.
Problems: If too much is used, flavour can be overwhelming. Some people dislike the 'pasty' mouthfeel of chestnut. May be hard to find in the shops. Available by mail order on the internet. Expensive.
Cooking notes: Can be used successfully, at around 10% of flour weight, in breads, cakes, biscuits and even pastry. Not as absorbent as rice flour unless pre-cooked to form a purée.
General Assessment: An underrated gluten-free ingredient, offering flavour and nutritional quality in a flour that has an impressive culinary history. A fine product of a theoretically 'sustainable' forest agriculture.
Pam Says: Obviously not a flour for nut allergics. Be especially careful about possible contamination. Quite sweet & sticky to use.
Wwooohha thats a large scale chesnut roast! :1244:
It looks like a completely brilliant get together. My chestnut get together consisted of me, in the kitchen, making chestnut soap...which tasted wonderful!
It looks like a completely brilliant get together. My chestnut get together consisted of me, in the kitchen, making chestnut soap...which tasted wonderful!
I hate to ask but were you on the Chestnut wine before making the soap :rolmao:
Frogo
Moonraker,
Nice pics!
Nope, people don't usually do that around here... Each are roasting their own chestnuts ont heir own, usually... I like the idea :mrgreen:
Cheers,
David
Tantalus
14-11-2004, 17:17
It looks like a completely brilliant get together. My chestnut get together consisted of me, in the kitchen, making chestnut soap...which tasted wonderful!
doesn't it make you froth at the mouth though ?
Tant :?: