Chestnuts in cooking

The mention of chestnuts causes most people a variety of associations and not always gastronomic. In our country, edible chestnut nuts can be found only in the south, and in other places horse chestnut grows, unsuitable for food. Moreover, the fruits of horse chestnut are poisonous, so you can only admire them. Edible chestnuts are sold in supermarkets — they are brought from Krasnodar, the Caucasus, Abkhazia and other places. If you have not tried this exquisite delicacy yet, it is quite easy to learn how to cook it if you know the secrets and subtleties. Chestnuts are delicious, nutritious and healthy!

How chestnuts became part of the gastronomic culture

Chestnut trees were grown already in ancient Greece and Rome, but their fruits were considered a medicine rather than a delicacy. Chestnuts were fed to livestock. It was only in the XV century that people tasted exotic nuts and realized that they were worthy of being on the dining table. However, for a long time chestnuts were the food of the poor, and only a little later they learned to cook delicious dishes.

In Japan and China, the first mention of chestnuts appeared even earlier, long before the appearance of rice, and they were cooked in a simple way — fried on a fire. Until now, almost half of the world’s chestnuts are eaten by the Chinese.

What are chestnuts like

The most popular varieties of edible chestnuts are seed, American, Chinese and Japanese. They have a green spiked pluska and look like tiny hedgehogs, whereas the inedible horse chestnut has rarer needles. Brown nuts are hidden under the pluska, and if they look like an onion with a small tail on the sharp end, then chestnuts are definitely edible — you were not mistaken. The taste of horse chestnut is unpleasantly bitter, while the edible fruits are mealy and sweet.

Raw chestnuts taste like unripe nuts, and cooked fruits look like baked potatoes with nutty notes. It is believed that the most delicious chestnut is Japanese. In terms of satiety, nuts are close to potatoes, rice, bread and other carbohydrate products. It is not by chance that this tree was previously called a bread tree. Because of the neutral taste, chestnut dishes can be prepared with a variety of products — they simply absorb the taste and aroma of the ingredients present, such as funchosa, potatoes and rice.

How to cook chestnuts

In Europe, there is a good tradition — to arrange picnics in the fall and bake chestnuts on the fire. This delicacy is also sold on the streets of cities, where the fruits are cooked in open braziers. They are cleaned and eaten hot, washed down with grape juice, beer or cider. The main thing is to pierce the nut shells before baking, otherwise the chestnuts will explode during heat treatment. Chestnuts are also boiled and steamed, added to soups, sauces, salads, casseroles and side dishes, stuffed with chicken and Christmas turkey. If you want to save chestnuts until Christmas, they can be boiled, peeled and frozen.

But the use of chestnut fruits in cooking is not limited to this. From nut fruits, an amazing chestnut flour is made, which is used for making unsweetened pies and dessert pastries. You don’t even need to add sugar to sweets, because flour already has a sweet taste. Chestnut honey and jam, pancakes, biscuits, muffins and cookies are very pleasant. In France, a delicious delicacy maron glace is prepared from chestnuts, for which peeled chestnuts are boiled in sugar syrup and dried to a crisp state. Chestnuts with chocolate sauce and chestnut puree from boiled nuts with sugar are no less delicious. They say that these are real delicacies!

Both tasty and useful

Chestnuts also have healing properties. They are rich in vitamins C, A, B, potassium, iron and calcium. Nuts reduce the temperature, treat cough and clear the bronchi, relieve pain, have anti-inflammatory properties and stop diarrhea. Chestnuts are good for digestion and kidneys, while they produce a slight diuretic effect. Chestnuts are especially useful for hypertensive patients, because they normalize blood pressure and strengthen blood vessels.

If you have varicose veins, you can relieve your condition with a chestnut diet. Arthritis, sciatica, gout — even such serious diseases can be treated if you eat these useful gifts of nature more often.

Since chestnut has a low concentration of fats (1 g per fruit), they can be eaten by everyone who is on a diet. This is what distinguishes this variety of nuts from its “brothers”. If we also take into account that chestnut improves blood circulation, removes excess fluid from the cells and removes swelling, this product becomes invaluable in the fight against cellulite. Chestnuts are used to make tinctures for burning fat, and anti-cellulite creams are prepared on the basis of its oil.

It is better for children to give chestnuts from the age of four or five, because their delicate digestive system may not cope with the digestion of this nut.

How to fry chestnuts

And now it’s time to learn how to cook chestnuts at home. Sort them out and throw away the crumpled, spoiled fruits and nuts with cracked shells. Pour the chestnuts into the water and take only the drowned fruits for subsequent cooking — the surfaced ones are not suitable for food, since they are most likely spoiled. Hold the remaining chestnuts in water for 15 minutes, dry them with a towel and make cross-shaped incisions from the sharp edge so that the shell does not burst during frying and the chestnuts are then easily cleaned.

Fill a large frying pan with vegetable oil, lower the chestnuts into it and fry for half an hour on medium heat under a closed lid. Sometimes shake the pan without opening the lid. Peel the chestnuts from the shell immediately, otherwise it is problematic to do it later. Serve the dish with sugar or salt — it’s incredibly delicious!

Chestnuts baked in the oven

This method of cooking is even easier, and you can see this in your own kitchen. To begin with, sort and wash the chestnuts, removing those that are unsuitable for food, and then make incisions.

Preheat the oven to 200 °C, setting the mode with convection. Put the nuts in a cast-iron dish or a fireproof mold with a cut down and cook for 15 minutes, then mix the chestnuts and bake for another 15 minutes. It all depends on which nuts you like — softer or toasted.

Cool the chestnuts, sprinkle them with salt and serve with beer or wine. You can cut the peeled nuts into pieces, add any vegetables, pasta or rice to them, and then season with olive oil and lemon juice.

“Fast” chestnuts in the microwave

Prepare the chestnuts for frying, as already described above, and be sure to make incisions. Put the nuts in a microwave dish, add salt and a little water-4-5 tbsp. l. for 10 fruits. Mix well.

Turn on the most powerful mode and cook for exactly 8 minutes. If the chestnuts are too large, and the microwave is not too powerful, the cooking time can be increased. Some gourmets claim that nuts in the microwave are not so tasty, but this is for an amateur. Try it and decide for yourself!

Candied chestnuts

This is a very simple and extremely delicious dessert that will surely take root in your family. Peel 0.5 kg of chestnuts and cook them in water until softened, so that they do not lose their shape.

Cook the syrup from 2 cups of water and 0.5 kg of sugar — after boiling, it should cook for about 10 minutes. Put the finished chestnuts in the syrup and cook for another half an hour. Let the dish brew a little and keep it on the fire for another half an hour. Chestnuts should become almost transparent. After that, add 50 ml of rum and transfer the dessert to a beautiful dish. Decorate the delicacy to your taste and serve it to the amazed household and guests.

Chestnut flour pancakes with ricotta

Everyone loves pancakes, and chestnut pancakes are exotic for most. But what prevents you from appreciating their delicate nutty taste?

Prepare a dough of 2 eggs, 230 ml of milk and 100 g of chestnut flour, which can be added a little more if the eggs are large. The dough should be homogeneous, without lumps. Leave it on for 15 minutes.

Prepare a filling of ricotta and honey — the number of ingredients to your taste. Someone likes it sweeter, and someone can add a little salt and herbs instead of honey.

Fry the pancakes in olive oil, put 2 tablespoons of ricotta on each, roll in half and place on a platter. Pour them with yogurt, honey or any sauce that you like. Chestnut pastries have a pleasant color and delicate texture, and even more so will not disappoint you when tasting.

Chestnut soup “You’ll lick your fingers”

This exquisite soup is a bit like potato soup, but it looks unusual and appetizing.

Cook the meat broth and allocate about 1 liter or a little more for the soup, taking into account the fact that a little liquid will boil off when cooking. Chop the carrot and onion into cubes and fry them in vegetable oil until golden brown. Add 300 g of peeled chestnuts from the supermarket and vegetables to the broth, add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the chestnuts are soft-about 15 minutes.

Beat the soup with a blender, but leave a few chestnuts to float in it. This way the dish will look much more interesting.

Season the chestnut soup with 2 tablespoons of cream and serve with fresh herbs.

Draniki with chestnuts

You probably have never tasted such an unusual dish. Well, you are given such a unique opportunity!

Make incisions on 7 chestnuts and cook them in water for 10 minutes.

Grate 3 raw peeled potatoes. Peel the chestnuts from the shell and also chop them on a grater, and then mix with the potatoes. Add 1 raw egg, a clove of crushed garlic, salt, 2 tablespoons of flour and a little finely chopped dill.

Mix the dough well and fry the draniki in vegetable oil on both sides. Serve with sour cream. The taste of such draniki is very subtle, a little nutty and original.

Chestnuts protect against depression and stress, soothe and give a good sleep. Sometimes indulge yourself with these delicious nuts, without which something is missing in the fall. Chestnuts lift the mood, and when we wash down these crunchy nuts with fragrant cider, it seems to us that life is inexpressibly beautiful, especially among the people closest to us.