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Chestnuts are simply consumed fried or boiled. Various dishes are prepared from edible nuts: soups, desserts, sauces.
Are all chestnuts edible?
Edible and inedible chestnuts grow in nature. Most often we find horse chestnut in parks and along roads. In spring it pleases us with beautiful flowering, but its fruits are completely inedible. Under natural conditions, edible chestnuts grow in southern France, Italy and Spain. Smaller varieties are successfully grown in Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Caucasus. The fruits are collected and a variety of dishes are prepared from them.
For long-term storage, chestnuts are baked or boiled and then placed in the freezer.
Even in Japan, on the island of Honshu, Tamba chestnuts grow, unique in taste. Edible fruits are sweet when fresh. They are used to prepare fillings for waffles, delicious rice balls, and an unusual snack for beer.
Raw chestnuts taste like unripe nuts. Prepared in the traditional way, the fruit tastes like baked potatoes with subtle nutty notes.
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The main method of preparing chestnuts is roasting in drums or in a pan. But there are many other cooking methods that we will look at today.
The benefits and harms of roasted chestnuts
If you want to try an exotic dish, then you need to figure out whether you should eat it. Consider the benefits and harms of roasted chestnuts:
- Among the positive qualities, it is worth paying special attention to the composition of the fruit: vitamins (choline, beta-carotene, vitamins A, B, C, E, K, PP, including ascorbic acid) and minerals (phosphorus, potassium, calcium, zinc, iron).
- An important role in creating a positive characteristic of a product is played by its nutritional value and composition: water, ash, saturated fatty acids, mono- and disaccharides, dietary fiber.
- Contraindications to eating chestnuts include the fact that when fried they contain carbohydrates and a large amount of starch, and this is unacceptable for people who are prone to obesity.
Calorie content of roasted chestnuts
One of the most popular edible varieties are sweet chestnuts. The calorie content of roasted chestnuts is about 180 calories per 100 grams of weight, so eating them in small quantities will not negatively affect your parameters. When roasted, the exotic nut contains a lot of carbohydrates and vegetable protein, which will especially appeal to those people who do not eat meat.
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How to cook chestnuts in the microwave
In just 7 minutes you can cook chestnuts in the microwave. You need the unit itself and fresh chestnuts.
Cooking steps:
- Wash the chestnuts and make a cross-shaped cut on them.
- To prepare nuts, you need a special container that can be used in the microwave. Place the cut chestnuts in it.
- Lightly salt and add a little water. Mix.
- Bake chestnuts in the microwave, selecting the most powerful mode. The readiness of the nuts is determined by the sound. They hiss.
How to choose chestnuts
It is quite easy to distinguish noble species from inedible ones. They have green skin, densely studded with small thorns, and the box contains several fruits at once.
The nuts are shiny, smooth, dark brown in color with elongated tails, slightly reminiscent of an onion. May have sizes similar to a walnut, chicken egg or tangerine, depending on the variety and country of origin.
At room temperature, fresh chestnuts are stored for no more than 4 days, in the refrigerator - about two weeks, so you should discard wrinkled or very dark fruits - they will taste bitter. The ideal choice is firm, round fruits, without damage or stains on the shell.
If you buy a frozen product, also pay attention to the expiration date - it should not exceed 5-6 months.
You can also find pickled chestnuts on sale. They do not require additional processing, but are immediately used for food.
How to cook chestnuts in a frying pan
Roasting chestnuts in a pan is the easiest way to prepare nuts.
To make the skin of chestnut fruits softer, pour boiling water over them for 5 minutes or boil for 3 minutes.
Drain water from pre-treated chestnuts. Leave the fruits to cool.
Make cross-shaped cuts on both sides. This will make it much easier to peel the roasted chestnuts.
To cook chestnuts, use a thick-bottomed frying pan. Place nuts in a single layer on a preheated frying pan.
Dampen and dry a kitchen towel. Cover the chestnuts with it. Set the heat to medium and fry the nuts on both sides for 40 minutes.
Turn the nuts every 4 minutes. If the towel is dry, it must be wetted again.
Excessive consumption of edible chestnuts can be harmful to health.
Cooking chestnuts in a slow cooker
The principle of cooking chestnut fruits in a slow cooker is practically no different from the method of cooking in an oven or microwave.
During the cooking process, you can hear a clicking sound, this is the skin cracking. To prevent the nuts from exploding or bursting, they must be cut.
Cooking process:
- Sort through the chestnuts and check for damage.
Wash well and make cuts - Place nuts in the multicooker bowl.
- Set one of the modes: “Cook”, “Frying” or “Oven”. Set the timer to 20 minutes. Make sure that the cooking temperature is not higher than 200 °C.
- Close the lid and start the unit.
- After turning off the multicooker, take out the finished chestnuts and completely remove the peel.
How to properly peel chestnuts
Traditionally, chestnuts are roasted over coals; the heat causes the skin to burst and then be easily removed.
At home, you can use more affordable methods for cleaning them.
- Chestnuts can be fried in a frying pan, just remember to cut them. On heated fruits, the peel bursts when simply pressed. A film will remain on the kernel; it can be left or easily removed with a knife.
- Cut the shell and place it in boiling water for 10 minutes. As a result of this heat treatment, the shell is removed along with the film.
- Another way to peel chestnuts is in the oven. To do this, place the baking sheet with nuts in an oven preheated to 200°C for 10 minutes. As a result of heating, the peel becomes soft and easy to peel.
- The microwave will also help you peel the nuts. Just put the fruits in a special bowl with a lid and set it to normal mode for 30 minutes.
- And the last method involves using a freezer. Chestnuts need to be frozen and then placed in boiling water for a few minutes.
At the end of the article, I would like to say that the chestnuts that we often see on our streets are not used for cooking. This is a special species of the Beech family – chestnut Castanea sativa. The edible chestnut is native to Asia Minor, as well as Southern and Eastern Europe. Today, this type of deciduous tree grows on the southern coast of Crimea, the Caucasus, Dagestan and Moldova.
How to Grill Chestnuts
To grill chestnuts, you will need a special frying pan with holes.
Carefully sort through the chestnuts purchased or collected yourself, putting aside soft, rotten or cracked chestnuts.
Chestnuts with dents are also not suitable for cooking. Rinse the selected nuts well with water at room temperature. Drain the water and place the chestnuts on a towel. This is preliminary preparation of the fruit. Place the chestnuts flat on the table. Using a sharp knife, make a cut in the brown skin of each chestnut.
There is no need to cut the white pulp so that the nuts do not fall apart when peeling. Pour the cut fruits with cold water for 2 hours. Remove the chestnuts from the water and begin cooking.
Place chestnuts in a single layer in a frying pan and fry over coals. Cooking time approximately 20 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally to mix the nuts.
Do not place the frying pan with chestnuts too close to the fire. The nuts will not cook or will burn.
Prepare a terry towel.
Place the chestnuts on it and wrap it well, putting something else warm on top. Keep the nuts like this for at least 5 minutes.
How to eat chestnuts
Many housewives and cooks use this unique product not only as an independent dish, but also make soups, pilaf, etc. from it. The only thing that is important to take into account is that chestnuts can only be eaten hot, as soon as you take them out of the oven or from frying pan, because the taste of the exotic nut will fade as it cools.
How to peel chestnuts
To enjoy the taste of a nut, first prepare it correctly: select fruits suitable for eating, pour water over those that float, collect and throw away, and continue working with the rest. Make cross-shaped cuts from the sharp edge using scissors or a fork and send them to fry. This action determines how easy it will be to peel the chestnuts later, and this is also where any roasted chestnut recipe begins.
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What chestnuts can you eat?
In cooking, roasted chestnuts are a famous dish with amazing taste. Before you roast nuts yourself, you need to know what they are. So, you can eat chestnuts that are covered with a spiky green shell. Elongated fruits are considered edible; in appearance and shape they resemble an onion with a small tail at the sharp end - as in the photo.
It is worth noting that it is strictly forbidden to use lumpy round nuts (horse nuts) for cooking, because at best this threatens you with food poisoning. Such fruits grow on trees among large, spreading leaves in central Russia, so residents of warm regions are better off not taking risks and, if desired, prepare chestnuts, select and buy them in the nearest store.
Delicious chestnuts in the oven
Instead of traditional roasting, chestnuts can be baked in the oven.
This does not make the taste of the fruit any worse. Cooking steps:
- If you get chestnuts with prickly skin, you need to remove it. Wash and dry the peeled nuts well.
- To prevent chestnuts from exploding or bursting during baking, make cuts.
- Preheat an electric or gas oven to 220°C.
- Place the nuts cut side down in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the fruit from burning.
The finished nuts become soft and the skin comes off easily. - Place hot chestnuts in a fabric bag. Tie it tightly and shake well. Separate the fruit from the peel and serve
Large chestnuts can be roasted directly on the grill.
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French notes on the dining table
Unfortunately, most of us will not have the opportunity to walk the streets of Paris and taste roasted chestnuts. But any cook can learn how to cook chestnuts at home and feel like a Frenchman. Let's look at several dishes that include fried fruits. They are used as a semi-finished product, adding to vegetable stew. Chestnuts can be thoroughly mashed with a rolling pin or chopped with a blender. Then stir with milk and add to:
- various sauces;
- souffle;
- pies;
- cakes;
- cupcakes;
- ice cream.
Since the product has universal properties, it is easy to experiment with it. Let's look at a recipe for how to cook chestnuts at home using additional products.
French flavors with brisket
Grocery list:
- chestnuts;
- pork belly;
- cabbage;
- bulb;
- vegetable oil;
- wine sauce.
Preparation:
When all the components of the dish are ready, they are laid out on a wide flat plate in separate piles. The meat is poured with wine sauce.
Chestnut pie
Ingredients:
- edible chestnuts;
- chicken eggs;
- milk;
- butter (a piece for greasing);
- salt.
The process of creating a dish:
The finished dish is cut into small portions. Serve with hot broth or puree soup.
As you can see, the “Roasted Chestnuts” delicacy, the recipe of which is available to everyone, can be easily prepared at home. The main thing is to follow the instructions of specialists. And then, enjoying the taste of exquisite French food, you are mentally transported to the streets of the glorious city - Paris.
Secrets of cooking chestnuts - video
How to cook chestnuts
You can cook edible chestnut fruits not only in water, but also in milk. Let's look at both cooking methods.
Cooking chestnuts in water:
- Wash 300 g chestnuts well.
Make cuts on the peel. - Boil 1 liter of water in a saucepan and pour the chestnuts into it. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Drain the water and let the nuts cool slightly. Peel any peels that have broken during cooking.
- Pour 1 liter of cold water over the peeled nuts. Boil for 15 minutes.
- Drain the water. Drizzle boiled chestnuts with melted butter. Sprinkle a mixture of chopped nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves on top.
Cooking chestnuts in milk:
- Select 300 g of good chestnuts. Wash. Make cuts.
- Pour 1.5 liters of boiling water over the nuts. Cook for 4 minutes.
- Drain the water and cool the chestnuts slightly. Peel the fruits.
- To further prepare the chestnuts, use a thick-bottomed pan.
Pour 1.5 liters of cold milk over the nuts. Boil and cook on low heat for half an hour. - Serve the chestnuts hot, drizzled with melted butter.
Chestnuts boiled in milk have a creamy taste.
Cooking tips
Before cooking chestnuts, you need to know how they can affect the body.
Cooked fruits can be:
- a separate dish;
- base for puree soup, salads;
- ingredient for many dishes.
Before cooking, be sure to properly prepare the fruits (see section “Softening chestnut shells before any cooking method”).
When frying, they may hiss and click, but they should not burst or explode (to do this, do not forget to cut them).
After peeling the fruit, be sure to remove all membranes and films (it is in them that the bitterness is concentrated).
Do not leave the finished nuts for future use, as they will dry out and their taste will change.
Candied chestnuts
We recommend preparing a delicious chestnut dessert. We are sure that all family members will like it.
Ingredients:
- chestnuts – 1 kg;
- sugar – 1 kg;
- water – 1 l;
- rum – 100 ml.
Cooking process:
- Wash intact chestnuts and pour boiling water over them for 5 minutes.
- Drain the water and cut the peel. Carefully remove it.
- Boil the peeled fruits in water until completely softened. However, they must remain intact.
- In a separate pan, boil the syrup from sugar and water. Boil for 10 minutes.
- Place the boiled chestnuts in boiling syrup and cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat for an hour and repeat the process of preparing the candied chestnuts again. After 30 minutes, the nuts will become almost transparent.
- Pour rum into the pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and transfer the finished dessert into jam bowls.
How to cook chestnuts in soup
To prepare a soup with chestnuts called “Finger-licking goodness” you will need only 300 g of edible peeled nuts.
Cooking process:
- Prepare meat broth in advance.
- For a delicious soup, pour 1 - 1.2 liters of prepared broth.
- Peel the carrots and onions. Cut vegetables into cubes. Fry in vegetable oil until golden brown.
- Place fried vegetables and peeled chestnuts into a saucepan with broth. Salt and add spices.
- Cook the soup for a quarter of an hour.
- Select several whole fruits from the pan. Beat the rest of the pan thoroughly with a blender.
- Before serving, pour 2 tbsp into the puree soup. l. cream.
In a bowl, garnish the soup with chopped herbs.
Edible chestnut salad
A delicious salad can be prepared almost any time of the year, because it uses canned chestnuts. Especially tasty salads can be prepared in early autumn or summer, when vegetables ripen.
Salad ingredients:
- a jar of canned chestnuts;
- carrots – 150 g;
- 4 lettuce leaves;
- 1 tbsp. l. Calvados;
- 75 ml vegetable oil.
Cooking steps:
- Peel and cut the carrots into thin strips.
- To remove bitterness from lettuce, immerse it in cold water for half an hour.
- Open the can of chestnuts and drain the juice.
- Dry the lettuce leaves with a kitchen towel. Using your hands, tear them into medium-sized pieces.
- First place lettuce leaves in a deep plate, then carrots, and chestnuts on top.
- Prepare a dressing from vegetable oil, salt, Calvados and a small amount of hot pepper.
- Pour the prepared dressing over the salad.
To prepare the salad, you can use roasted, peeled chestnuts.
When serving, sprinkle the salad with almond petals and sesame seeds.
Useful material
The type of chestnut that grows on our territory, horse chestnut, is unsuitable for food. Southern noble chestnuts, which grow in Europe, America and the Caucasus, are roasted. These chestnuts also differ in appearance. The horse chestnut contains one seed, while the southern fruit contains two or three chestnuts. They are considered nuts and can be eaten either raw or roasted.
Roasted chestnuts contain an incredible amount of nutrients:
- Vitamins A, C, K, PP, group B, lutein;
- Microelements zinc, copper and iron;
- Macroelements potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus;
- Unsaturated and saturated fatty acids, Omega-3 and Omega-9;
- Essential amino acids.
Eating roasted chestnuts has a positive effect on the condition of blood vessels, muscles and bones, the nervous system, the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, normalizes cholesterol levels in the blood and improves immunity.
However, despite their rich composition, chestnuts are not as high in calories as other nuts and are quite suitable for dietary nutrition.
Draniki with chestnuts
To prepare the dish, you must select 7 undamaged chestnuts. They need to be cut and boiled for about 10 minutes. Cool and remove the peel.
Peel three large potatoes and grate them. Also grate the peeled chestnuts. Mix ingredients in a bowl.
Beat in the egg, add a clove of chopped garlic, 2 tbsp. l. flour, salt and chopped green dill.
Mix everything well. Fry pancakes in hot vegetable oil.
Serve with sour cream.
This dish differs from the usual potato pancakes in its original, slightly nutty taste.
Now you know how to cook chestnuts in different ways. Each recipe presented is worthy of your attention. Prepare an original dish of edible chestnuts for your family and friends.
