450168 Fri Oct 12 09:25:08 -0700 2007 41 31 Home Cooking 0 3028485 As I was walking to work, I noticed a great deal of chestnuts lying around in the park, so I was thinking I would grab a bag and pick some up on the way home. What do I do with them then? I remember someone in college microwaving them, and they were quite good (scored the top, I believe, then just popped them in) What else? I know they're everywhere this time of year, so other people must have thoughts Fri Oct 12 09:25:08 -0700 2007 66403 dagoose 1 3029180 Have a bag sitting here. Had them in Italy as a dessert Marrons Glacés with fresh cream and liquor it was to die for otherwise never have been a huge fan. I found a Pear Strudel with Chestnut Cream and Pear Chip recipe in - The French Laundry Cookbook that looks easy enough for a non baker like myself to make. Looks like the perfect fall dessert. Also, saw in our Julie Rooso's cookbook a Chestnut-Potato Puree that looks delish. I can post these if you like. Fri Oct 12 12:02:32 -0700 2007 3028485 52212 Lori SF 2 3029988 I'd love a recipe for the marrons glaces! Fri Oct 12 15:25:03 -0700 2007 3029180 79652 itryalot 3 3030074 sorry I don't have that one, this was something I had in Rome many years ago and still dream of sorry sorry..maybe somebody here will see this and have a clue as to how you make this dish. I remember the glace coating was luxurious covering the chilled chestnuts so when you took a bit in you were pleasantly suprised between the warm covering and chilled glaces..then the cream sauce was heaven with a bit of liquor that was almost like a brandy not too sweet but with heat.. everytime I see the word chestnut I have a flash back. I have the other recipes I mentioned. Fri Oct 12 15:48:39 -0700 2007 3029988 52212 Lori SF 3 3074829 I don't have a recipe, but I used to help make them when I worked at a French bakery in Ottawa. Trust me - they're a PITA to make. You have to repeatedly soak and coat them with syrup over several days, and if you don't store them properly, they rot. Oh, and they almost always break. Sun Oct 28 16:55:27 -0700 2007 3029988 10681 piccola 4 5102224 Was this "The French Baker" in the Byward market? I tried making marrons glacees a few times, and failed. I am going to try again this year, and will start a thread on it, as I said in another thread. Hope you can help with it, piccola. BTW did you also work at Piccolo Grande (looking at your nick) :-) ? The French Baker did not make them last Christmas as they do not sell well. Wed Oct 14 08:13:42 -0700 2009 3074829 13143 souschef 5 5150035 Alors Souschef, have you tried the marrons glacés yet? Mon Nov 02 13:41:28 -0800 2009 5102224 13709 buttertart 6 5150918 I bought some yesterday, and plan to start the long process this week. BTW I will be getting a kilo from Confiserie Rohr in Geneva for Christmas, so will have my benchmark on hand for comparison. Mon Nov 02 19:11:48 -0800 2009 5150035 13143 souschef 7 5151503 Pretty damn high benchmark, looking forward to hearing about the process and outcome. (The best I ever had by the way were from Bernachon in Lyon. Too bad you're not in NY, there is a Turkish cafe here - a branch of Gulloglu in Istanbul - that sells chestnut baklava - very good marrons glacés in baklava pastry anointed with sheep's milk butter.) Tue Nov 03 06:08:30 -0800 2009 5150918 13709 buttertart 1 3029564 Where do you live? If you're in North America, the chestnuts you've seen lying around are NOT edible. Our native chestnut trees died out years ago due to some imported bug or fungus or something. The chestnut trees we have are horse chestnuts - the tree looks very similar but the nuts are definitely not good to eat. Actually I think they're poisonous. Fri Oct 12 13:31:05 -0700 2007 3028485 12383 Nyleve 2 3029940 not entirely true. there are a number of newer planted trees that are edible. the husk/shell is the difference.if it is sort of brushlike with lots of thin softer spines almost like a brush on the outside as opposed to hard spaced spines on the outside then it is a edible chestnut as opposed to a horse chestnut, which is actually a member of the buckeye family and the nits shouldnot be eaten. If they are real chestnuts, write again and I'll give you some recipes for wonderful things to do with them Fri Oct 12 15:12:28 -0700 2007 3029564 106255 chazzerking 2 5101433 I live in Massachusetts and my chestnut tree is most definitely not a horse chestnut. They're quite easy to tell apart. There is a thread currently on the Boston board that helped me identify mine, and it has lots of good links to pictures. Tue Oct 13 20:40:05 -0700 2009 3029564 28323 MrsCheese 1 3029604 I'm in seattle...are they really not edible? When I lived in New Hampshire we always picked them up and ate them...is that not okay? Fri Oct 12 13:39:35 -0700 2007 3028485 66403 dagoose 1 3029902 home with a head cold I seemed to miss the part that you saw them in the park. No not for human consumption for squirrels only. Fri Oct 12 14:59:13 -0700 2007 3028485 52212 Lori SF 1 3029965 just taste 1 - microwave or boil or bake - and see how it tastes - they might be chinese chestnuts , which r just as delicious as the italian chestnut. if they are indeed horse chestnuts , u will taste the acidity right away - but they arent poisonous - they just taste like crap. I nave 10 chinese chestnut trees and i cant wait till the nuts drop in the fall - they are superb. Fri Oct 12 15:19:54 -0700 2007 3028485 27760 dibob817 2 3031272 Please check this link. Yes they really are poisonous - please don't eat horse chestnuts. Make sure you have the right kind before you taste. http://museum.gov.ns.ca/poison/chestnut.htm Sat Oct 13 08:00:03 -0700 2007 3029965 12383 Nyleve 3 3031351 well, ty for the link - sure surprised me though. As a child , there was a horse chestnut right down the road from my house - and there qwere real chestnuts around then also) and i ate a horse chestnut maybe twice - never remember gettign sick. But I did always have a cast iron stomach. again, ty 4 the info - and I stand corrected. Sat Oct 13 08:46:00 -0700 2007 3031272 27760 dibob817 4 3031691 Always happy to save a life on a rainy Saturday. Sat Oct 13 11:55:03 -0700 2007 3031351 12383 Nyleve 1 3029993 My mom used to boil them and use them for stuffing. We enjoy them raw and oven roasted (slit first and when you take them out, wrap them in a clean dishcloth). Fri Oct 12 15:26:07 -0700 2007 3028485 79652 itryalot 1 3031159 If they're edible..... Italian chestnut cake (torta di castagne) is one of my favourite cakes, and generally I'm not big on desserts. It's much lighter than most nut-based cakes because the chestnuts are either very finely chopped or pureed, and the eggs are separated, with the whites being beaten to stiffness before being integrated into the batter. Sat Oct 13 06:43:13 -0700 2007 3028485 91415 hungry_pangolin 2 5100664 I would love this recipe. Tue Oct 13 14:46:52 -0700 2009 3031159 13709 buttertart 1 3031377 If they're the edible kind, my favorite way to use them is chestnut rice. We get locally grown chestnuts as there's a guy in the next county who has trees he nurtures. The shells are soft enough to score and peel with a sharp paring knife, although you have to be careful. Then the skin generally peels off because they're moist. Some require a little more coaxing. I cut them in pieces and cook them atop koshihikari (short grain white) rice and a little sake in the water. Absolutely delicious! Sat Oct 13 09:00:42 -0700 2007 3028485 24126 amyzan 2 3074833 oooh yum! I'm actually more interested in savoury recipes than sweet ones, so if you have more, please post! Sun Oct 28 16:56:26 -0700 2007 3031377 10681 piccola 3 3075379 It's called kuri gohan in Japan, and I found the basic recipe in Hiroko Shimbo's The Japanese Kitchen. I use a rice cooker, so it's very easy once I get the chestnuts peeled. I usually do that laborious part while watching evening TV the night before we have it. Then I cover the nuts with water and refrigerate them overnight. I don't roast them before peeling, but I'm lucky to have a local source and they're so fresh, 90% of them are soft enought to peel with a paring knife, CAREFULLY! Okay, so you wash the rice until the water runs clear and then drain. (I use a short grain white rice koshihikari variety, buy it at an Asian grocery.) I put the rice along with 1 tbsp. sake and 1 tbsp. mirin in the rice cooker pot. (If you cannot find mirin you could sub 1/2-1 tsp. sugar to taste, but try to find the mirin, as the flavor's better. Asian groceries should have it.) Add water to the correct level for the amount of rice your'e cooking. I usually cook 12 ounces of rice with about 25-30 chestnuts. Cut the chestnuts in quarters or sixths if they're large and scatter atop the rice in the water. They should sit on top so that they stay in pieces and can be folded in gently when the rice is ready. I like the rice topped with gomashio, which is black sesame seeds and salt pounded in a mortar or suribachi, 6 parts sesame to one part salt. (If you have any gomashio leftover, use it as a table condiment.) Sun Oct 28 20:59:52 -0700 2007 3074833 24126 amyzan 4 3076349 I don't have a rice cooker, but I'm sure I can adapt it for a regular pan. Thanks! Mon Oct 29 09:38:22 -0700 2007 3075379 10681 piccola 1 5100465 Stumbled onto a chestnut thread from the Boston board and thought I’d post a link here that may be of use…(originally posted by kobuta) http://tree-species.blogspot.com/2009/03/edible-chestnuts-vs-horse-chestnuts.html Tue Oct 13 13:39:02 -0700 2009 3028485 233294 cuccubear 1 5100479 And now for my question… Last year a friend had some chestnuts he picked up in his yard to feed the squirrels at our “clubhouse”. He offered me one but it had a worm in it and I refused. He told me that all chestnuts have worms in them. I asked around and searched a bit on the web, but haven’t found a definite response. My friend described a process you go through to de-worm them, but none of it seems logical to me, so… Do all chestnuts have worms in them? Tue Oct 13 13:43:24 -0700 2009 3028485 233294 cuccubear 2 5100668 Not that I've seen. Tue Oct 13 14:47:52 -0700 2009 5100479 13709 buttertart 2 5100767 A chestnut in its edible stage is all but impregnable by worms, so a chestnut with a worm is garbage for two reasons. Also, there are very few edible chestnuts in the U.S. Some sprouted from surviving root systems after the blight destroyed every tree here, about 100 years ago. Some resistant hybrids have succeeded after 1950, but it's still early for chestnuts from second generation hybrid trees. Check out the other thread referenced above. Tue Oct 13 15:35:18 -0700 2009 5100479 57170 Veggo 3 5101918 “a chestnut with a worm is garbage…” That’s what I thought too, but he was adamant about it so I let it go. I was surprised that he even had chestnuts, and offered them to me. I knew they could be poisonous, so after reading this and the other thread on the Boston board, until I know exactly where they came from, I ain’t eatin’ ‘em. Wed Oct 14 06:09:23 -0700 2009 5100767 233294 cuccubear 1 5100642 I love this River Café recipe for gnocchi with chestnuts and sausage. It's a winner, especially at this time of year. http://www.sierrarica.com/recipes/22.pdf Tue Oct 13 14:37:44 -0700 2009 3028485 110146 greedygirl 1 5102038 I have very fond memories of gesztenye pure from when I was in Hungary - it's chestnuts cooked with milk, sugar and a little rum, pureed, and then pressed through a potato ricer. Served with a big cloud of whipped cream. Heavenly. I'm always a little disappointed by roast chestnuts from street vendors though - they seem mealy and flavourless - but I've never had fresh chestnuts to roast myself. Last Thanksgiving I made brussels sprouts with chestnuts and double-smoked bacon (recipe here - http://www.chow.com/recipes/10441) - as a quick shortcut, I buy vacuum packed bags of pre-peeled Chinese chestnuts at Asian groceries. The quality is not bad - they smell very nice, and work well in this dish. I've got to try the chestnut rice recipe listed above - thanks, amyzan! Wed Oct 14 06:59:20 -0700 2009 3028485 10402 plum 2 5114237 Is that Hungarian dessert the one that's supposed to look like a mountain? It sounds great with the rum in there. Mon Oct 19 08:58:40 -0700 2009 5102038 123744 karykat 1 5102516 I make a chestnut soup that's especially good around the holidays: cook 1 medium onion and 1 small clove garlic in 2 Tb butter until softened, add 1 package of the Chinese cooked and peeled chestnuts, 1/2 cup white wine or vermouth, 2 1/2 cups water plus 1 Maggi chicken bouillon cube (or homemade stock equivalent), 1 small bay leaf. Cook until chestnuts are falling apart (about 1/2 hour, can cook longer). Purée in food processor and sieve back into cleaned pan, add 1 cup heavy cream and a jot of Armagnac, Cognac, or sherry in order of preference. Serve in small cups with croutons or something else crisp as a contrast. Can add diced celery and carrot to the onions if liked (about 1/2 cup of each). Makes enough for 4, can be doubled or more. This recipe is based on a happy memory of a soup we had at Troy's Restaurant in Toronto when we were courting. Wed Oct 14 09:59:55 -0700 2009 3028485 13709 buttertart 2 5102651 I was going to ask you where do you get your chestnuts? From a store or street vendor? Are the domestic or imported? Knowing that there are some viable chestnut trees around, but are there enough for supply to meet demand? Apparently not, according to this article on Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut Demand is far greater than supply and the US imports mostly from Italy, Portugal and France, with some imports from China and South Korea. This may have been common knowledge among chestnuts afficionados, but at least I learned something today! YAY, I can go home now! Wed Oct 14 10:44:10 -0700 2009 5102516 233294 cuccubear 3 5102672 The Chinese ones are quite good for most applications and seem to be more widely distributed all the time. I have also made this with the Chinese dried chestnuts which you have to cook for about an hour in boiling water before embarking on the soup, and once with the real thing which have to be slit, boiled, the outer shell peeled off and the inner skin ditto while still hot, which was a huge pain in the butt (and fingers). Wed Oct 14 10:50:48 -0700 2009 5102651 13709 buttertart 3 5103017 As a massive chestnut fan, I am shocked that you don't have any to speak of in the US. One of the best things about winter is getting a paper bag of roasted chestnuts off a street vendor. Having said that, I often buy the peeled and cooked ones for convenience - in the UK they're mainly from France. Wed Oct 14 12:42:31 -0700 2009 5102651 110146 greedygirl 4 5103183 They have those here too but they are a lot more expensive than the Chinese ones, which also tend to be whole, not broken as the French ones in plastic vacuum packs often are here. Wed Oct 14 13:40:39 -0700 2009 5103017 13709 buttertart 5 5103205 Have you bought the ones that WIlliams-Sonoma sells in jars? Wed Oct 14 13:45:46 -0700 2009 5103183 13143 souschef 6 5103303 No, I'm too cheap. I don't think I've ever bought a WS food product. Wed Oct 14 14:18:18 -0700 2009 5103205 13709 buttertart 1 5109855 Here in eastern KS, there is a local grower who has planted Chinese variety trees that are doing quite well. http://www.chestnutcharlie.com/ I usually buy a few pounds and shell them to keep in fresh water in the fridge for a few weeks. I'll make chestnut rice or braised chicken with chestnuts most often, from recipes in Hiroko Shimbo's cookbook, The Japanese Kitchen. If there are any leftover, i either dry them in the shell, then peel for storage, or make candied chestnuts. I've not yet found an entirely reliable recipe for candied chestnuts, though. I have visions of mont blanc at Christmastime, but the harvest seems to be too early here. They've always been eaten up or dried by that time. Sat Oct 17 04:12:43 -0700 2009 3028485 24126 amyzan 2 5113893 Couldn't you make and freeze sweetened chestnut purée in preparation for Christmas? That is a wonderful dessert. Mon Oct 19 06:53:26 -0700 2009 5109855 13709 buttertart