Can't get past delicate aroma emanating from chestnut braziers in the squares of European cities. Sweetish, warm pulp resembles baked potato with a taste of walnut. Feel the Christmas spirit ancient Europe you can at home. To do this, try frying chestnuts in a pan.
Find chestnuts for sale in large chain supermarkets, in the section that sells nuts. The fruits should be brown in color, with a characteristic elongated tail, our regular chestnuts are not suitable for roasting and can be poisonous. If you decide to pick fruits from a tree, be careful, the leaves of edible chestnuts have an elongated shape and are attached to the branch with a long handle, unlike the spreading leaves we are used to from city alleys. The nut itself is also covered with a green, needle-like skin that is not eaten. Slash the hard skin of each nut in a criss-cross pattern or just poke a few holes. They are needed to release steam when frying. It is more convenient to use a saw blade for this, since their protective peel is quite strong and slippery. Be careful when working with sharp knife. Heat a skillet over high heat and reduce it to medium. It is better to take dishes for frying with a thick bottom, high walls and a heavy lid. Place the skillet on the stove and heat the chestnuts for 5-10 minutes, depending on the quantity. Check the readiness of the dish by lifting the lid. In the cuts, the light pulp of the nut will appear and begin to emit a unique aroma. Large and dark fruits may be old, but this will not affect the taste. You can soften old fruits by adding a little hot water. If you plan to often roast chestnuts at home, then it is recommended to purchase a special frying pan with holes in the bottom and a long handle, it is the best suited for cooking this dish both at home and on an open fire. There is no doubt that the aroma of chestnuts is revealed much better on an open fire than when cooked at home. You can also prepare chestnuts for eating in the microwave or oven. To do this, take a special dish for microwave oven or a heat-resistant form for oven. Sprinkle nuts on the bottom in one layer and pour a little hot water, close the lid. In the microwave, they will cook in 4-6 minutes at the highest power. An oven heated to 220 degrees will steam chestnuts in 15-20 minutes. After roasting, chestnuts need to be peeled. Do this with protective gloves or mittens as they can be quite hot inside.Ready-made fruits should be consumed immediately after preparation, their taste is especially pleasant while they are still warm. Chestnuts contain a lot of nutrients, fiber and vitamins. Unlike other nuts, they are much lower in fat, which makes them no less useful due to their richness in minerals. Eat chestnuts as a separate dish, or by adding them as a side dish to meat and poultry. You can drink these sweet nuts with red wine or mulled wine, children will love their combination with hot chocolate.
Calories: Not specified
Time for preparing: 60 min
Many have tried chestnuts baked over a fire. They are always cut beforehand so that they do not explode during heat treatment. Chestnuts cooked over a fire are a great appetizer or snack, reminiscent of nuts. Only they are eaten hot, removing the scorched peel.
Few people know that chestnuts can also be baked in the oven or boiled in water. Boiled chestnuts are just as tasty as those cooked over a fire and can be served as an appetizer on their own or used as an ingredient in many interesting European recipes. Look at this simple one.
in front of you step-by-step instruction how to cook chestnuts. If you want to surprise your friends and loved ones with an interesting unusual dish, you should learn how to cook chestnuts in their skins at home.
We will need:
- 0.5 kg. chestnuts
- about 2 liters of water,
- 1 tsp salt,
- Bay leaf optional.
Recipe with photo step by step:
Wash the chestnuts thoroughly. Then, with a sharp knife, each chestnut must be cut "along the equator" from a more rounded side. Not around the entire perimeter, but only on the curved side, slightly capturing at the edges.
Be careful not to cut yourself. For reliability, you can fix the chestnut with a nutcracker.
You need to cut only the thick peel and a layer of thin skin inside. At the same time, try not to hurt the pulp of the chestnut itself.
Now that all the chestnuts are cut, you can consider that the hardest part is over. It remains only to properly cook the chestnuts. I put them in a bowl with cold water. The water should completely cover the chestnuts. We put the pan on the fire, add salt and bay leaf. Bring water with chestnuts to a boil.
Boil the chestnuts for about 40 minutes if the chestnuts are large. If average, then half an hour will be enough.
During the cooking process, the water will turn dark brown, and properly cut chestnuts will open wide at the cut point, exposing the yellowish-white flesh.
Drain the water from the finished chestnuts, cool slightly before serving, so as not to burn your hands. Pay your attention to this unusual one in the form of chestnuts.
Clean boiled chestnuts it is more convenient while they are hot and moist, so the peel is removed along with the inner skin. After cooling, the skin sticks to the chestnut and it will be problematic to remove it.
Properly cut chestnuts are very easy to peel, they are like pistachios - already a third open.
Serve boiled chestnuts as an appetizer, snack, or use as an ingredient variety of dishes. Now you know how to cook chestnuts in their skins at home, so you can surprise your guests with an unusual dish.
Surely everyone has heard about such an interesting plant as chestnut, which grows on the streets of almost any city with a more or less warm climate. They are especially known for their wonderful pale pink blooms in early May and funny chestnut nuts, which are enclosed in prickly balls. But few know that these fruits are also edible and a delicacy, not to mention their magical value. In many European countries, roasted chestnuts are a street delicacy that many tourists from all over the world try, so today we will talk about the art of roasting chestnuts.
Few people know how to roast chestnuts so that they really become tasty. The fruits of the sowing or European chestnut, which grows in Asia Minor and some European countries, are used for food. Chestnuts begin to bloom in May-June, and the fruits themselves ripen by the beginning of autumn. They look like round balls with a sharp tip and a beige bottom. This is very useful view nuts, rich in all sorts of microelements, including zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, etc. This nut is a natural source of carbohydrates and proteins, as well as just a healthy and exotic dish.
Chestnut belongs to the beech family and usually grows on the territory of the Balkan Peninsula, which is considered its ancestor. Those chestnuts that grow on our streets are horse chestnuts, which are poisonous and are used in medicine. Outwardly, they are similar to edible chestnuts, but it is quite easy to distinguish them. In edible chestnuts, the peel has a beige color (meaning in mature fruits), and the spines are longer and softer than those of horse chestnuts. The only places in the CIS where seed chestnuts can grow are the Crimea and Transcaucasia - places with a warm maritime climate ideal for growing edible chestnuts.
In this article, you will learn about which chestnuts are better to choose for cooking, what they are useful for, recipes for their preparation and many secrets to achieve the perfect taste of these capricious nuts. So, first you need to understand which chestnuts you can eat at all, and which ones are better not to mess with.
What chestnuts are edible
It is very rare to find chestnuts in Russian stores, but for true connoisseurs this is not a problem at all. But which chestnuts are best to eat, and which ones should be carefully avoided? There are two main types of chestnuts:
- Horse chestnut. This type of chestnut is poisonous, not used for food, and is used in the cosmetology and medicine industry.
- Noble. It is also called "real".
The fruits of this type of chestnut are edible and look like hazelnuts - brown, round in shape with a hard shell. The contents are similar to a light puree-like mass, which tastes like sweet potato.
Composition of edible chestnut:
- Saturated carbohydrates: starch
- A large amount of fiber
- Pectin
- Proteins
- beta carotene
- Vitamins of groups A, B, C
- Minerals: calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium.
What are the benefits of edible chestnut
Chestnut is a very versatile product that will suit everyone who wants to try this delicacy, and it will be especially good for vegetarians, because it contains great amount vegetable protein, which they exclude in the form of meat. So, beneficial features chestnut:
- Huge dose of energy. Only 2-3 chestnuts can completely saturate a person so that he does not want to eat for at least half a day. It is also the perfect snack for the night when you want to eat and not gain weight. And by the way, chestnuts great helpers from fatigue and weakness.
- Great option for garnish. Chestnuts are a versatile product in cooking, they are boiled, fried, baked. They are good at vegetable salads, porridge and even how independent dish. Chestnut meat is given spicy and delicate taste, making it unusual and juicy, so take note of this!
- Helper for weight loss. As mentioned earlier, chestnuts are high in protein and low in fat, so this perfect option to shed a few pounds. It is especially important to add it to a vegetarian diet, it saturates the body very well. It is also recommended for athletes to eat after training as a natural source of protein.
- Useful medicine. Chestnut perfectly treats patients with disorders respiratory tract and lungs, and not only the fruits themselves are useful, but also the bark, leaves and buds. Useful decoction chestnut helps with hemorrhoids, dilated veins of the nasopharynx, thrombophlebitis. It also tones the tone of blood vessels, strengthens capillaries and accelerates blood circulation.
Chestnut can also cure women's diseases, such as mastitis and mastopathy. Chestnut fruits are also used for massage of the mammary glands. However, such procedures should be carried out according to the recommendations of the doctor; in no case should you try self-medication.
Chestnut will also be useful for people suffering from diseases of the spine. With sciatica, you can try sleeping on chestnuts. During sleep, the body will receive a massage that will strengthen the vertebrae and relax them. With arthritis, you can make a bracelet from dried chestnuts (about 6-7 pieces) and wear it on your arm. For rheumatism, it will be useful to constantly touch the chestnuts in the hand, strengthening the motor skills of the fingers.
A decoction of chestnut is also useful for the skin. You need to pour boiling water over 2 tablespoons of chopped chestnut and wipe your face daily. The skin becomes elastic, wrinkles and redness disappear.
How caloric is chestnut
Chestnut is not a very high-calorie product: 165 kcal per 100 g of product. Roasted chestnuts are of course a few calories, the energy value such a product may be above 200 kcal. In any case, it's much the best option snack than chocolate, peanuts or seeds.
Chestnuts are harvested in autumn when they are fully ripe. They are rich in vitamins A and C, folic acid and zinc. The French like to eat them raw, straight from the trees. They taste like Jerusalem artichoke or sweet ground walnut.
How to peel chestnuts
Before eating chestnuts, it is first important to be able to properly peel them. We will now tell you how to do this. So:
- We take a chestnut and cut its top, then put it in boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes.
- We take it out of boiling water and put it in freezer for 4-6 hours.
- Then again dip into boiling water and substitute in a stream of cold water.
The effect after such actions is impressive - the shell will be removed quite easily and effortlessly, and you will save time on preparing new delicious dishes with chestnuts!
Perhaps this classic recipe cooking chestnuts, which provides heat treatment a product in the shell, which was used by the cooks of medieval France, so let's get started!
- First you need to buy the right chestnuts, not to be confused with inedible ones. Eatable chestnuts are flat and small in size.
- Having picked up the right fruits, select the good ones - throw away the spoiled, dented, cracked nuts, and wash the normal ones with a damp sponge and dry.
- Pour water into a large basin and add chestnuts. Those that float are not suitable for cooking, give preference to "drowned" fruits.
- Those that have passed the test, leave in the pelvis for 20-25 minutes. Then dry with napkins and pierce several holes in the shell with a knife or fork to avoid tearing the shell during frying.
- Prepare a wide frying pan with a thick bottom and high sides. Pour oil into it and set to warm up, there should be enough oil to completely cover the beans. Put a couple of wet wipes on the chestnuts. this will prevent the nuts from drying out.
- Cover the pan with a lid to keep the chestnuts from "jumping out" during frying when they explode. After that, put the fire on a medium level and fry for 25-30 minutes.
- Stir the chestnuts occasionally or shake the pan. After frying, spread paper towels on a plate and put the roasted chestnuts until they cool.
- Pressing on the nuts will help to peel the shell, after which the peel will begin to lag behind itself and you only need to remove it. The chestnuts are ready to eat.
How to cook chestnuts in the oven
An equally popular method of roasting chestnuts is roasting them in the oven, which saves mass. useful substances and prepared without a large number oils.
- Turn on the oven to 200-210 degrees and leave to warm up for 5-10 minutes.
- Prepare chestnuts - discard spoiled and cracked ones, wash good ones with water and soak for 10 minutes in cool water. Then take it out and dry it.
- Make a cross cut on the flat surface of the nut or pierce 2-3 times with a fork. This will help to release the accumulated steam during baking and prevent the shell from cracking.
- Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil, put the chestnuts with a cut to the top. Sprinkle everything with cool water.
- Roast the beans for 15-20 minutes until soft. Move them periodically during the baking process so that they do not burn. When the casing cracks easily when pressed, turn off the oven.
- Cool the chestnuts and peel them. To make it easy to separate, wrap the fruit in a napkin and press on it. When it has completely cooled, remove the remaining peel.
- Remove the inner shell of the product along with the shell. It is important to peel the chestnuts in the first 10 minutes after roasting, while they are still warm. After cooling, the shell hardens and it will be more difficult to remove it.
If the chestnuts still can't be peeled, put them back in the oven for 5 minutes, then try peeling again. Do not prick the fruit with a knife, the shell should peel off by itself.
The simplest and quick recipe cooking these tender fruits at home.
- Remove spoiled and rotten specimens, and wash whole ones and soak for 15 minutes. Then dry and leave to dry completely.
- Pierce the chestnuts in several places with a knife or needle and place in a microwave-safe deep dish. Cover with wet wipes or cloth.
- Set the maximum power on the timer and the cooking time is 3-5 minutes. Remove the dish every 1.5 minutes and stir.
- After the signal about the end of cooking, pour vegetable oil into a container with chestnuts and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Continue stirring every 1.5-2 minutes until full cooking beans.
How to cook chestnuts on charcoal
Very unusual way cooking chestnuts, which is able to surprise your friends and acquaintances at a picnic or gathering.
- Examine purchased fruits for cracked or spoiled ones, then wash the selected chestnuts, soak for 10 minutes and leave to dry.
- Take a huge frying pan with a thick bottom and a cauldron. On each chestnut, make a cross cut in the flat part of the nut.
- Light a fireplace or barbecue so that you get a high layer of coals. Put a frying pan on it and put the chestnuts cut to the bottom, cover and fry for 6-7 minutes. Shake the chestnuts every 2 minutes to ensure they brown evenly.
- Once cooked through, remove the skillet from the coals, flip all the chestnuts, and roast for another 5 minutes. After removing the chestnuts from the pan, leave them to cool, then remove the shell with the shell and serve to the guests.
Is it possible to give chestnuts to children
There are no completely reliable sources to allow or prohibit the introduction of chestnuts into the diet of children, but doctors tend to believe that it is better to give chestnuts to children at least 5-7 years of age. At an earlier age, the child's stomach is simply not able to digest such high-calorie foods. Since chestnuts are a very poorly digestible product, it can primarily harm the baby's gastrointestinal tract, as well as create problems with the liver, kidneys and other internal organs. Due to improper use of chestnuts, bloating or constipation may occur, so if you still want to treat your child to such an unusual product, grind the chestnuts into a smooth puree and add to vegetable mixes or broths.
Popular recipes with chestnuts
Vegetarian roast with chestnuts
This dish will be useful for those who do not eat meat, or rather for vegetarians who eat very little protein and lack it. The protein contained in chestnuts can replace meat in composition. It's completely lightweight and hearty recipe will be useful to all hostesses who want something tasty and unusual.
Ingredients:
- 500 g champignons
- 300 g chestnuts
- 50 ml cognac
- 70 g hazelnuts
- Half an onion bulb
- A couple of cloves of garlic
- Spices
Cooking:
Fry the mushrooms with cognac until the liquid has completely evaporated. Peel and cut the chestnuts along with the hazelnuts. Chop and fry the onion with garlic, add spices. Mix everything and put on a baking sheet, adding a little water. Put the mold in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees.
chestnuts with milk
A very gentle and simple dessert with the addition of spicy chestnuts in sweet milk with cinnamon will delight any gourmet sweet tooth!
Ingredients:
- 500 g chestnuts
- 500 ml milk
- 2 tbsp. l. honey or sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Cooking:
Peel chestnuts and boil for a couple of minutes in water, then peel off the film. Put chestnuts in milk, add honey, cinnamon and put on water bath. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the chestnut kernels soften.
In no case do not pour boiling water over chestnuts to get rid of the film. When you start cooking them, be sure to put them in cold water, with a sharp change in temperature, the chestnut will deteriorate and go limp.
⦁ Royal from chestnuts
Royal is a dish of monarchs, which was served for the first time at the court of the French monarch. This dish is steamed and is a classic of French cuisine.
Ingredients:
- 300 g chestnuts
- 100 ml cream
- 100 g meat broth
- 5 pieces. eggs
- Salt and pepper
Cooking:
Beat the eggs with a mixer with salt until a homogeneous liquid, then add the cream and broth in a thin stream. Peel chestnuts, fry in a pan, cool.
Blend into puree without lumps. Add the puree to the egg-butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Grease a baking dish with butter and pour the chestnut mixture into it.
Place the mold in the oven at 200 degrees. Ready royale is served in portions with broth or soup-puree.
Chestnut as an addition to ice cream
Hearty and sweet chestnut will decorate any ice cream with its taste, especially vanilla or cream.
Ingredients:
- 500 g chestnuts
- 3 art. l. butter
- 80 ml wine or cognac
- 2 tsp Sahara
Cooking:
Boil the chestnuts for 5 minutes in boiling water, peel, mix with the butter-sugar mixture and put on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.
Cool, cut into pieces and add to ice cream. Drizzle with liqueur to taste.
Well, we got acquainted with such a wonderful delicacy as chestnut, learned its benefits and nutritional value. And most importantly, we learned how to cook this delicate and capricious nut. However, despite its whimsical cooking, chestnut can be added anywhere: in soups, side dishes, desserts, and of course as an independent dish. Be sure to try this one exotic fruit and treat them to your family and friends. We are sure they will love it!
More recently, this fruit, which in some places replaces potatoes and corn for local residents, was completely alien to us. Today we are looking more and more at chestnuts- not only on European trips, but also in the menu of restaurants, in shops and in their own kitchens.
What are chestnuts
In the courtyard of my childhood, as in many other old Moscow courtyards, a luxurious chestnut tree grew. It can be said that it was an exemplary chestnut tree: it reached the height of the sixth floor, regularly bloomed with elegant candles in May and dropped weighty cones on an inappropriately installed bench in sunny October. Hard greenish pebbles were used for a variety of children's games, but if someone told us that somewhere they are fried, boiled and made into cakes with chocolate, we would laugh in his face. By the way, they would have done the right thing, because that chestnut, obviously, was horse- its leaves looked like figured star-shaped paws (in a tree with edible fruits, they are oblong and are attached to the branch stalk one by one).
edible chestnuts do not grow in our latitudes. The nearest place on the map is the Caucasus, Armenia and Azerbaijan, but even there they somehow turn out small, like walnuts, while in Europe they are the size of a good tangerine. However, especially large ones are valued almost like truffles and are not even exported. You can meet them in southern France, in Spain and, of course, in Italy, where, of course, solid delicacies will be born.
The most selective - in Sicily, just good - in the north of the country. In Piedmont, in Lombardy, on the streets you can see signs warning of the seasonal fall of nuts (chestnuts are nuts). During this very fall, passers-by, without hesitation, pick up the crop, lay it out, satisfied, in their cases and bags from Furla - of course, you don’t have to pay three euros per kilo, like in a supermarket!
In the north of Italy, extremely rare for Europe wild chestnut forests, where whole companies go with baskets in September-October. And mothers of families remember dozens of recipes for preparing this autumn gift of nature. You need to hurry: chestnuts are poorly stored - after a couple of days they begin to dry out and deteriorate. True, if you freeze them baked or boiled, then you can then use the whole season, and the taste will not suffer.
However, where nature does not throw chestnuts. One of the varieties - fragrant chestnuts tamba- grows on the Japanese island of Honshu. In the Land of the Rising Sun, chestnuts are highly respected - among the poetic Japanese people they are considered the same symbol of autumn, as cherry blossoms are a symbol of spring. Fresh Tamba chestnuts are so sweet that no sugar is added to them when preparing kurimochi rice balls, an appetizer for amaguri beer, or filling for waffles sold at the bustling intersections of old cities.
How to eat chestnuts
We also gradually got acquainted with chestnuts. Sooner or later, each of us came to Europe for Christmas and was fascinated by its magic. Winter, perhaps, was warm and almost snowless - such that one wanted to walk and walk. In the old city, around the cathedral, a festive market bustled and offered all kinds of glittering and singing treasures. Fragrant corrugations were baked everywhere, punch and mulled wine were poured, warming up interest in life. And, of course, an integral part of this whole tale were the chestnut sellers, who theatrically ruled in the falling twilight with their antediluvian braziers. On the iron sheets, brown chestnuts bounced, crackled, and glowed to a noble golden hue. The bursting balls were poured into a paper bag - then they easily opened, showering the skin, and burned pleasantly. The taste was reminiscent of hazelnuts and at the same time boiled sweet potatoes, which are baked on the streets of Asian megacities. But it happened in Paris, or Rome, or Strasbourg, Cologne, Vienna ...
In general, our memories of the day when we first tasted chestnuts are not without sentimentality. However, leaving sentiment aside, cook exotic nuts obtained in an ordinary market or in an expensive gastroboutique, and on the own kitchen . The easiest recipe fry them in the same primitive way: make an incision (otherwise they will explode) on the flat side, put them in a frying pan (not Teflon, of course), cover with a lid and listen to how they jump there, ready to burst and show the world a tender, crumbly inside. However, the most delicious chestnuts are not those that have already burst, but those that are about to burst, “on the verge” ... But defining this “just about” is almost an art. Only professionals own it. For example, the Japanese who roast their Tamba chestnuts in drums filled with hot river sand without leaving the temperature control unattended.
Chestnuts are delicious exceptionally hot, just from a brazier or pan. If you are aiming not for a fleeting connection (student dinner: chestnuts and new wine), but for a serious relationship, this stage of roasting can be the beginning of what is called a beautiful friendship. With a spoon, carefully remove the warm pulp from the cracked skin and cook in one of dozens of ways.
How to cook chestnuts
Let's say chestnuts can be served as garnish for roast- instead of the usual potatoes. Or add to pilaf. Or, as in the Caucasus, fill them up with large quantity onions in a bowl cooking meat, and leave for ten to fifteen minutes: the chestnuts will have a completely different flavor. And they will need to be served separately, generously sprinkled with pomegranate seeds.
Good for a suburban lunch combination with apples and: first, by pouring water, bring the chestnuts to a pleasant softness, then, draining the water, add chopped apples and butter and simmer until the fruits become soft. Prunes and nuts will add piquancy to the dish.
Chestnuts are baked, fried, boiled, they are also stuffed with poultry: in America - for Thanksgiving Day, in Europe - for Christmas. We are not connected centuries old traditions and we can stuff a rooster or a turkey right now. By the way, capon stuffed with chestnuts and armagnac is sold in gastronomic boutiques for incredible sums.
Chestnut is generally a favorite of masters haute cuisine. And those who like to make unusual flavor combinations. By the way, in such combinations, it is perfect as a souvenir: they just brought me jam from Paris, it's called "chestnuts and Chinese smoked tea." It is almost unsweetened, you can't eat it with cookies or pancakes - just an artifact.
Friends who are interested in gastronomy will appreciate the beauty of the game if you cook for them chestnut soup. It does not require special knowledge or effort: to meat broth seasoned with onions, garlic, celery and parsley, after chestnuts, you need to add a spoonful of butter, a glass of cream and a little alcohol like brandy.
When there is no time to mess around with roasting and peeling nuts, you can use canned chestnut puree. It forms the basis for dozens of interesting and easy-to-make dishes. Mostly, of course, sweet. The simplest cake, which does not even need to be baked: stir well a couple of glasses of puree with 175 grams of butter, 300 grams of dark chocolate and a few tablespoons of rum, put in a mold and keep overnight in the refrigerator. Or just whip the puree with the cream.
From chestnut flour fragrant cookies(mm, with pine nuts and raisins), but probably most of us, especially children, love whole chestnuts: gnaw on a large nut like an egg, moreover, with such unusual taste- who wouldn't like it? Our weakness is indulged primarily by manufacturers marron glaces- glazed chestnuts, which can be found in any French, Spanish or Italian supermarket.
Chestnuts aged in sugar syrup and hidden in a shell of thick chocolate or white icing, it is easy to cook on your own. Even easier - "drunk" chestnuts: pour one hundred grams of sugar into a glass of red wine, put boiled chestnuts and simmer for a while over medium heat until a syrup is formed. Then, while still hot, put whipped cream on the featherbed, sprinkle with vanilla and garnish with mint and candied fruits.
We sell edible chestnuts in three types: fresh unpeeled, fresh-frozen peeled and pickled. The last ones are already finished product, without additional processing, they can be added to a salad, for example, in combination with an orange or smoked fillet duck breast. Freshly frozen chestnuts must first be roasted and then used, say, in soup with porcini mushrooms. And fresh, unpeeled nuts should be cut, covered with foil and baked in the oven for about 20 minutes, then salted and eaten just like seeds or corn are eaten.
Another unusual “chestnut” product, directly related to nuts, however, has nothing to do with it, is honey. Pleasantly liquid (does not crystallize until spring, and maybe longer, it just didn’t stay with us longer), dark brown - exactly chestnut! - colors with a light aroma and an amazing bitter taste. It is useful in kidney and stomach diseases, kills microbes. One hundred percent chestnut honey does not exist - it would be too bitter, bees collect pollen from other plants. And the more clearly bitterness is felt in honey, the more chestnut itself is in it.
The mention of chestnuts evokes a wide variety of associations in the majority, and not always gastronomic ones. 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 the 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 haven't tried this yet gourmet delicacy, learning how to cook it is quite easy if you know the secrets and subtleties. Chestnuts are delicious, nutritious and healthy!
How chestnuts became part of gastronomic culture
Chestnut trees have been grown since Ancient Greece and Rome, but their fruits were considered more like a medicine than a delicacy. Chestnuts were fed to livestock. And only in the 15th century people tasted exotic nuts and realized that they deserve to be 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 gourmet dishes from them.
In Japan and China, the first mention of chestnuts appeared even earlier, long before the advent of rice, and they were cooked in a simple way- roasted at the stake. Until now, almost half of the chestnuts in the world are eaten by the Chinese.
What are chestnuts
The most popular varieties of edible chestnuts are sowing, American, Chinese and Japanese. They have a green spiky plush and look like tiny hedgehogs, while the inedible horse chestnut has rarer needles. Brown nuts are hidden under the plush, and if they look like an onion with a small tail at a sharp end, then chestnuts are definitely edible - you are not mistaken. The horse chestnut tastes unpleasantly bitter, while the edible fruits are mealy and sweetish.
Raw chestnuts taste like unripe nuts, while cooked chestnuts taste like baked potatoes with a nutty twist. It is believed that the most delicious chestnut is Japanese. By satiety, nuts are close to potatoes, rice, bread and other carbohydrate foods. It is no coincidence that earlier this tree was called breadfruit. Due to the neutral taste, chestnut dishes can be cooked with a variety of products - they simply absorb the taste and aroma of the ingredients present, such as funchose, potatoes and rice.
How chestnuts are prepared
In Europe there is good tradition- 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 shells of the nuts before roasting, otherwise the chestnuts will explode during cooking. 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 keep chestnuts until Christmas, you can boil, peel, and freeze them.
But the use of chestnut fruits in cooking is not limited to this. The nuts are used to make an amazing chestnut flour, which is used for cooking savory pies and dessert pastries. You don’t even need to add sugar to sweets, because the flour already has a sweetish aftertaste. Chestnut and jam, pancakes, biscuits, muffins and cookies are very pleasant. In France, chestnuts are used to prepare a delicious maroon glace delicacy, for which peeled chestnuts are boiled in sugar syrup and dried to a crispy state. No less tasty chestnuts under chocolate sauce and chestnut puree from boiled nuts with sugar. They say they are real delicacies!
Both tasty and healthy
Chestnuts have healing properties. They are rich in vitamins C, A, B, potassium, iron and calcium. Nuts reduce fever, treat coughs 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, as they normalize blood pressure and strengthen blood vessels.
If you have varicose veins, you can alleviate your condition with a chestnut diet. Arthritis, sciatica, gout - even such serious diseases can be treated if you eat these more often. useful gifts nature.
Since chestnuts have a low concentration of fat (1 g per fruit), they can be eaten by anyone 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 cells and removes swelling, this product becomes invaluable in the fight against cellulite. Tinctures for burning fat are made from chestnuts, 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 tender digestive system may not be able to digest this nut.
How to roast chestnuts
And now it's time to learn how to cook chestnuts at home. Sort through them and throw away dented, spoiled fruits and nuts with cracked shells. Pour the chestnuts into the water and take only the drowned fruits for subsequent cooking - the floating ones are not good for food, as they are most likely spoiled. Soak the remaining chestnuts in water for 15 minutes, dry with a towel and make cross-shaped cuts from the sharp edge so that the shell does not burst during frying and the chestnuts can then be easily peeled.
Fill large frying pan vegetable oil, dip the chestnuts there and fry for half an hour over medium heat under a closed lid. Shake the pan occasionally without opening the lid. Peel chestnuts from the shell immediately, otherwise it will be problematic later. Serve the dish with sugar or salt - it's incredibly delicious!
Chestnuts baked in the oven
This cooking method is even easier, and you can see it in your own kitchen. First, sort and wash the chestnuts, removing those unsuitable for eating, and then make cuts.
Preheat the oven to 200°C on convection mode. Place the nuts in a cast iron or ovenproof dish cut side down and cook for 15 minutes, then stir in the chestnuts and bake for another 15 minutes. It all depends on which nuts you like - softer or roasted.
Cool the chestnuts, sprinkle them with salt and serve with beer or wine. You can cut the shelled nuts into pieces, add any vegetables, pasta or rice to them, and then season them with olive oil and lemon juice.
"Quick" chestnuts in the microwave
Prepare the chestnuts for roasting as described above, and be sure to make cuts. Put the nuts in a microwaveable dish, salt and add 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 not for everybody. Try it and decide for yourself!
candied chestnuts
It's very simple and extraordinary delicious dessert which will surely take root in your family. Peel 0.5 kg of chestnuts and boil them in water until softened so that they do not lose their shape.
Boil the syrup from 2 cups of water and 0.5 kg of sugar - after boiling, it should cook for about 10 minutes. Dip the chestnuts into the syrup and cook for another half an hour. Let the dish brew a little and keep it on fire for another half hour. The chestnuts should become almost translucent. After that, add 50 ml of rum and transfer the dessert to a beautiful dish. Decorate the delicacy to your taste and serve 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 the filling of ricotta and honey - the amount of ingredients to your taste. Someone likes it sweeter, and someone can add a little salt and herbs instead of honey.
Fry the pancakes olive oil, put on each 2 tbsp. l. ricotta, fold in half and place on a serving platter. Top them with yogurt, honey, or whatever sauce you like. has a pleasant color and delicate texture, and even more so will not disappoint you when tasting.
Chestnut soup "Lick your fingers"
This one is a bit like potato, but it looks unusual and appetizing.
Weld meat broth and allocate about 1 liter or a little more to the soup, taking into account the fact that some liquid will boil away during cooking. Dice carrots and onions and fry them in vegetable oil until golden. Throw 300 g of shelled chestnuts from the supermarket and vegetables into the broth, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until the chestnuts are soft, about 15 minutes.
Beat the soup with a blender, but leave a few chestnuts floating in it. So the dish will look much more interesting.
Season the chestnut puree soup with 2 tbsp. l. cream and serve with fresh herbs.
Draniki with chestnuts
You have probably never tasted such an unusual dish. Well, you have such a unique opportunity!
Make cuts on 7 chestnuts and boil 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 a raw egg, minced garlic clove, salt, 2 tbsp. l. flour and a little finely chopped dill.
Mix the dough well and fry potato pancakes in vegetable oil on both sides. Serve with sour cream. The taste of such potato pancakes is very delicate, slightly nutty and original.
Chestnuts protect against depression and stress, soothe and give sound sleep. Treat yourself to these sometimes delicious nuts, without which something is missing in the fall. Chestnuts lift our spirits, 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.
