How to cook chestnuts, what are useful

Edible chestnuts are a delicacy for many people. These fruits contain many useful substances necessary for humans. The recipe for making chestnuts is familiar from ancient times and has not changed much. Rules for the use of chestnut fruits in folk medicine and in cooking further.

What is useful chestnut

In the chestnut tree, all parts of the plant are useful:

• bark;
• flowers;
• fruit;
• leaves.

They are widely used in folk and official medicine for the treatment of various diseases. Culinary specialists and cosmetologists have also paid attention to the edible chestnut for a long time and have found a use for it. On the shelves of pharmacies and shops you can find creams and shampoos that use different parts of the tree.

The fruits are rich in fiber (2-3%) and minerals (3%). The composition of chestnuts includes:

• vitamins A, B, C;
• coumarin glycosides;
• triterpene saponin;
• aescin;
• fatty oils – about 7%;
• proteins – about 10%;
• starch – up to 50%;
• tannins – 1%.

Useful properties of chestnut nuts

You can talk about the health benefits of chestnuts for a long time, and this is not surprising. After all, all parts of this plant have unique properties:

1. Expand the arteries and promote normal blood circulation. As a result, blood clotting decreases, veins expand, and the risk of thrombosis disappears.
2. The fruits of chestnut trees are recommended for people suffering from hemorrhoids.
3. If the legs are tired, and the muscles have lost their tone, then you can use the recipe and prepare a decoction of the juice of the inflorescences and make foot baths.
4. With a runny nose and sore throat, a recipe is suitable that uses 50 g of chestnut tree bark. It is poured into 1 liter of boiling water and infused for 30 minutes. Washing the nasopharynx with a decoction helps to quickly get rid of the problem.
5. The edible fruits of chestnuts contain tannins. That is why they are used to heal wounds, treat burns.
6. Using different recipes, you can get rid of rheumatism, problems with the gastrointestinal tract, get rid of weeping, non-healing wounds.
7. Enough 2 nuts a day to raise the tone and mood.
8. Doctors and traditional healers recommend that women with breast problems put the fetus in a bra and use it to massage.

Medicinal properties of chestnut flowers

As already mentioned, not only the fruits, but also the inflorescences of the plant have useful properties. There are many recipes for preparing various potions from chestnut flowers, but each of them is effective if there are no contraindications. Collect flowers at the very beginning of flowering, until the ovaries have formed.

Recipe options for using flower juice:

• can be applied externally by adding it to various ointments;
• squeezed out liquid to drink a few drops after breakfast and dinner;
• here is another recipe: you can pour the collected flowers with vodka, leave for 30 days. Drink as a tonic, 50 drops before eating;
• fresh chestnut juice stops external bleeding. But if the bleeding is internal, then you can use the juice only with the permission and under the supervision of your doctor. According to the recipe for 1 tbsp. water add 30 drops of juice. Reception – 2 times a day.

With the help of an infusion of flowers, you can get rid of varicose veins and relieve fatigue in the legs. To do this, it is enough to brew the petals and make a bath.

The use of chestnut in the treatment

The healing properties of chestnut nuts have been studied for a long time and are used in traditional and official medicine. With the help of various parts of the plant, diseases such as:

• sinusitis;
• joint problems;
• heart;
• phlebeurysm;
• thrombophlebitis.

How to treat sinusitis chestnut

A disease such as sinusitis occurs quite often in people of different ages. To avoid damage to the sinuses, you can use a drug based on horse chestnut fruits. This plant has inedible fruits that are not recommended for consumption. But its healing properties are excellent.

Horse chestnut contains a substance that can kill viruses and fungi that multiply in the maxillary sinuses. In addition, when it enters the nose, an infusion of the fruit causes sneezing, which helps to remove mucus and pus from the nose.

You can be treated not only with infusions, but also with raw chestnuts. They must first be soaked in water to remove the tough skin. Crushed white kernels should be injected shallowly into the nasal passage. You can mix the kernels with honey if this product does not cause allergies. Treatment lasts 1,5-2 hours a day. The course is designed for 5-9 days, depending on the severity of sinusitis.

Chestnuts for the treatment of joints

With age, many people begin to worry about the joints, reducing physical activity. But, most importantly, not even that, but constant pain, which is difficult to get rid of.

Chronic diseases of the joints are practically not amenable to treatment, but physical discomfort can be alleviated if treated with horse chestnut. Most often, a healing tincture is prepared from the fruits. The recipe requires 1 liter of vodka and 500 g of chopped chestnut kernels.

For grinding, you can use a coffee grinder, meat grinder, blender. Then pour the fruits with good quality vodka. After 21 days, the tincture will be ready for use. The container must be kept in a warm and dark room all this time so that there is no access to light.

The finished medicine must be filtered, then rubbed into the diseased joint several times a day. After the procedure, the sick part is wrapped with a warm scarf.

Chestnut tincture can be used not only externally, but also internally. Within a few days after eating, drink 40 drops of the medicine and drink warm boiled water.

Chestnuts for varicose veins and thrombophlebitis

The benefits of chestnut for the human body can not be overestimated. In folk medicine, there are recipes that use inflorescences to solve problems with varicose veins. To prepare an alcohol tincture, you need 50 g of flowers and 500 ml of high-quality vodka.

The collected inflorescences are placed in a dark glass bottle and filled with vodka. The vessel is cleaned in a dark room for 14 days. Shake the contents from time to time. You can use the tincture after filtering 30 drops half an hour before meals. Every day for 30 days drink drops 3 times a day.

For the treatment of thrombophlebitis, the recipe will be slightly different:

• vodka – 100 ml;
• chopped chestnuts – 10 g.

To grind the fruit, use a blender or coffee grinder. The powder is poured with vodka and kept in a dark place for at least 10 days. After that, the contents are filtered and poured into a sterile jar.

Features of the reception: each time before a meal, add 60 drops of tincture to 30 ml of water. The course of treatment lasts no more than 14 days, then a break is taken for the same time.

How to cook chestnuts at home

Most often, the fruits of the chestnut tree are fried or baked. The procedure is simple, but there are some nuances that you should pay attention to:

1. Wash the nuts in the shell with cold water, dry well.
2. Before baking or frying, each fruit is cut with a sharp knife from the convex part. The bottom, flat part of the nut should remain intact. Incision is a necessary procedure, otherwise the fruit will burst during heat treatment.
3. In a container, chestnuts are first laid out on a flat side, then they begin to stir vigorously.
4. By the time of readiness, each fruit is revealed at the place of the incision.
5. Chestnuts should be peeled immediately while they are hot. If your hands cannot stand high temperatures, you can wear gloves.

To prepare a delicious dish, you can use:

• a pan with a thick bottom and walls or a cauldron;
• oven cabinet;
• microwave;
• grill;
• multicooker.

How to fry chestnuts at home in a pan

No oil is required to roast chestnuts in a pan or in a cauldron. The process is carried out in a dry container.

Fruits with cuts are laid out in one layer and fried with constant stirring for no more than 30 minutes.

In the oven

The oven is heated to 250 degrees. Sliced ​​chestnuts are laid out on the surface of a dry leaf and sent to the oven, according to the recipe, for 10-15 minutes. From time to time, the fruits are stirred so that they are evenly baked.

In the microwave oven

For roasting in the microwave, chestnut trees of the same size are selected so that they are ready at the same time.

The fruits, according to the recommendations of the recipe, are placed in a special container, then poured with water to a third of the volume. Open containers are placed in the microwave at maximum power. After 5 minutes, the dish can be removed and immediately peeled.

Chestnuts are served hot. Cooled fruits have fewer useful properties.

In the multivariate

The recipe for making chestnuts in a slow cooker is quite simple. This will require:

• 500 g nuts with cut shells;
• 4 tbsp. l. any vegetable oil;
• a little salt.

Make cuts on the convex side of the nut, then pour the fruits with oil, sprinkle with salt and mix well. Put the fruits in a bowl and put the slow cooker on the baking mode for half an hour.

As soon as the signal sounds, the chestnuts are peeled and served.

Grilled

It is convenient to roast chestnuts on a special grill pan. An open fire will burn under the fruits, so that the work is done outside.

A shallow incision is made on each nut so as not to damage the pulp. The fruits are soaked for 2 hours in cold water. If desired, the water can be salted.

Wet fruits are laid out on a grate, under which there are hot coals (this can be clearly seen in the photo above).

To make the kernels juicy and tender, the contents of the grate are stirred, preventing strong frying. Readiness is determined by the opening of the shell.

Calorie content of chestnuts

Each product has its own nutritional and energy value. It is different for raw and roasted chestnuts.

Противопоказания

Despite the fact that edible chestnuts have beneficial properties, due to contraindications, not everyone can eat them.

When nuts are not recommended:

• with high blood pressure;
• with menstrual disorders;
• while carrying a baby;
• if a person has diabetes;
• in the presence of internal bleeding.

An edible chestnut can bring not only benefits, but also harm, therefore, before starting treatment, it is necessary to undergo an examination and get a doctor’s recommendation.

There are a few more contraindications, but they relate to the collection of medicinal raw materials – bark, leaves, inflorescences and fruits of chestnut trees:

• there should be no roads in the collection area;
• you can not collect fruits near factories and landfills;
• plants growing in the city are also unsuitable for obtaining medicinal raw materials.

The fact is that chestnuts absorb all harmful substances from the air and soil, just like any other plant.

Conclusion

Knowing the recipe for cooking chestnuts, you can provide your family with medicines and delicious dishes. It is best to cook the fruits immediately after ripening, until the pulp has dried naturally.