Sweet Chestnuts
"Chestnuts roasting by an open fire..."
Few foods are more autumnal than sweet chestnuts, the fruit of Castanea, a group of eight or nine trees and shrubs that belong to the same family as oak and beech trees.
Don't confuse them with Horse chestnuts, or conkers, which are toxic. Horse chestnut shells have a few, short, thick spines; sweet chestnut shells are covered with lots of soft, thin, sharp spines, and the nuts have a little tuft of white fur at the apex.
Chestnuts have a mildly sweet taste and a hard, crunchy texture that softens with cooking. Highly nutritious, unlike many other nuts they're high in carbohydrates, and low in protein and fat.
The main types of chestnuts include:
- American chestnut
- Sweet chestnut, or Spanish chestnut
- Chinese chestnut
- Japanese/Korean chestnut
Like blackberries, chestnuts can be freely foraged in the UK and are extremely enjoyable when roasted. Here's how:
- Use a small knife to cut an “X” into each chestnut. This allows the steam to escape and prevents the chestnuts from bursting in the oven.
- Place the chestnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet, and roast for 20-30 minutes at 220ºC. The chestnuts are cooked when the shells crack open and the chestnut has turned golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, then peel while they are still warm.
Glutamate: 89~98mg/100g