How to roast chestnuts in the oven. Positive features of chestnuts

In November, appetizing Caucasian chestnuts appear on the markets of our country. In many European countries, chestnuts have become one of the most favorite dishes. Unfortunately, they appear on sale only in the middle of autumn, during the ripening of these nuts.

Roasted chestnuts are very popular with the onset of the Christmas holidays.

These delicious nuts are considered a symbol of the Christmas table in European countries. Turkeys are stuffed with chestnuts and various desserts are prepared from them, fried and baked in the oven. Baked chestnuts have recently gained popularity in our country.

There are a great variety of edible chestnuts, but it is the “sweet chestnuts” that are especially popular. Chestnuts, like regular nuts, are high in calories. But compared to almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, chestnuts contain a small amount of fat. Chestnuts are ideal for a vegetarian diet. The composition of these fruits contains about 3% of useful minerals, 3.5% of fiber, vitamins A, B and C.

What chestnuts can you eat

Although there are many different types chestnuts, not all of them can be eaten. Those chestnuts that bloom with candles and grow in parks and near our homes are ordinary horse chestnuts. The fruits of these chestnuts are inedible. They can be easily distinguished from southern chestnuts. Only one chestnut grows in a small box with thick thorns. South Caucasian chestnuts are more like hedgehogs, they have small needles that are tightly located to each other. Each box contains several fruits.

Southern chestnuts have a sweetish taste, while horse chestnuts, on the contrary, are very bitter. Horse chestnuts are not poisonous, they contain many useful substances, but such chestnuts are not desirable. edible chestnuts grow mainly in the Caucasus and Europe. They come to the shelves of our stores from Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The most valuable are the Sicilian chestnuts. European chestnuts are practically not exported, which is why it is almost impossible to find chestnuts the size of a tangerine in stores or on the market. Today we will tell you how to cook chestnuts at home.

How to roast chestnuts

The first step is to cut the chestnuts. This can be done using special scissors or you can use a regular knife. Make a small incision on the side of the fruit to just grab the flesh of the nut. You can also cut the chestnut skin crosswise from a sharper edge. It is with the cleansing of the skin that any recipe for the preparation of these fruits begins.

In this way, you will make holes in the chestnuts for steam to escape and you can start frying them in a pan. To cook chestnuts on the stove, it is advisable to use a thick-walled dish with a lid, such as the one in which you cook popcorn. You can use a grill pan for this. Put it on the stove and heat over moderate heat without adding oil. Now you can put chestnuts on a heated pan.

If you are using old chestnuts and the cuts show wrinkled and dark flesh, you can add a little water to the pan or cover them with a damp towel. Thus, the chestnuts will steam well at the first stage of cooking and they will not be dry when ready. But these manipulations can not be done, final result still be successful. The most important thing is to fry the chestnuts in a frying pan under a lid over low heat, stirring occasionally. When the chestnuts start popping loud enough and bouncing around, you can only shake the pan or thick-walled pot a little.

Now you can check the nuts. If suddenly the chestnuts have darkened, and the shell has peeled off in places and light flesh is visible through the cut, then the chestnuts are completely ready. Let the cooked chestnuts cool slightly and carefully remove the skin from them and you can eat them. Don't wait until the roasted chestnuts are completely cool, as they will taste very different.

How to cook chestnuts in the microwave

You can also cook chestnuts in microwave oven. This is the most modern, fastest and safest method of cooking, of course, if you are not too lazy to make cuts on chestnuts.

As mentioned above, cut each chestnut with a sharp knife, place them in a not very deep microwaveable container. Lightly salt the chestnuts to taste and add a couple of tablespoons of water. Since it is impossible to roast chestnuts in the microwave, steam them a little and carefully remove the skin. If desired, you can fry the chestnuts a little in oil.

Cover the container with chestnuts with a lid or cling film and place in the microwave at full power for about seven minutes. After this time, taste one chestnut and, if necessary, continue cooking for a few more minutes.

How to cook chestnuts in the oven

Optionally, you can cook chestnuts in the oven. For this method, it is desirable to make a small cross-shaped incision on the fruits on either side.

Take a dry baking sheet and put all the prepared chestnuts on it, place in a preheated oven. After about twenty minutes, you can check the condition of the fruits. If suddenly the chestnut cuts open, then you can turn off the oven. Put on mittens so as not to burn your hands, pull out the chestnuts and carefully remove the skin.

Dessert from chestnuts

You want to please your children or pleasantly surprise invited guests, in this case, cook unusual dessert from chestnuts.

3 tablespoons butter,

500 grams of fresh chestnuts,

85 milligrams of cognac,

First of all, you need to peel the chestnuts. Make cross cuts on the fruit and place on a baking sheet in the oven. Heat the chestnuts in the oven until the skin bursts. Remove the chestnuts from the oven and remove the skin.

Boil the peeled chestnuts for five minutes. Transfer the boiled chestnuts to a refractory form, mix with not large quantity sugar and butter. Roast the chestnuts in the oven for five minutes. Pour cognac over cooked chestnuts while serving.

A beautiful plant - chestnut is familiar only to a certain part of the world's population, since, due to its natural characteristics, it can grow and multiply only in special climatic conditions. But despite this, roasted chestnuts today you can try in any part of the world. It will not be difficult for travel lovers to find at least one institution in any city in Europe, Asia, America and the countries of the former Soviet Union, where they would not treat this delicacy or show how to roast chestnuts.

What is useful in chestnuts

The chestnut belongs to the beech genus, but there are only a few edible species that can be eaten.

If you choose the wrong type of chestnut for food, you can seriously harm your health.

Mineral composition edible type this plant includes:

starch;
carbohydrates;
protein;
cellulose;
tannins;
beta carotene;
vitamins A, C and group B.

The energy value of chestnut is 170 kcal per 100 g of product. In addition, roasted chestnuts, the benefits of which also consist in the presence of a number of useful substances - potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, manganese and selenium are very much in demand as a component diet menu product. The fats and proteins that make up chestnuts make them highly nutritious and especially popular with athletes.

Known benefits of chestnuts in the treatment of upper respiratory tract, with hemorrhoids, varicose veins, tired legs and their swelling. You should not use roasted and baked chestnuts for people with gastrointestinal diseases, patients diabetes and those with blood problems, as well as those who care about their figure.

In my own way appearance edible and decorative chestnuts do not differ from each other in appearance.

How to Roast Chestnuts

Due to the popularity of this special product, many are interested in how to roast chestnuts at home. To begin with, it is worth choosing from the available chestnut fruits that are not spoiled, good quality. To check which of them can be eaten, you need to fill them with water. Those chestnuts that float should be removed, and those that have settled to the bottom can be cooked.

How to cook chestnuts yourself

There is a standard method for roasting chestnuts at home, the recipe of which is as follows:

Before frying the fruits, it is necessary to pierce or cut them in several places with a fork. This will prevent them from exploding.
Chestnuts are placed in a deep frying pan filled with oil, a few wet wipes are laid on top of them. This is one of the tricks on how to roast chestnuts at home so that they are not hard and dry. The pan must be covered with a lid - this is another feature of how to properly roast chestnuts. if the chestnuts start to burst and explode, then bouncing they will not fall out of the pan.
How long to roast chestnuts should not exceed 30 minutes. Periodically during frying, chestnuts should be shaken with the lid closed.
The finished dish is lightly salted and served chilled.

Roasted chestnuts, the recipe of which is described above is classic way their cooking, which recalls the taste of this dish offered in some countries - France, Spain and others right on the street. The above method shows how to fry chestnuts in a pan. But there are other ways that offer to do it in the oven or even on an open fire, on a fire during a picnic.

Before frying chestnuts, it should be noted that their edible form is much smaller than horse chestnuts, and also has a flat surface on one side. Roasted chestnuts, the recipe for which involves soaking them, can be easily peeled after cooking - you just need to press on them from above and they will begin to crack and peel.

It is best to peel the chestnuts right away, as it will be much more difficult to do this later.

Knowing how to roast chestnuts in a pan, you can cook a large number of dishes with it. Roasted chestnuts are often used as an addition to salads, additional ingredient to meat and fish dishes.

Recipes with roasted chestnuts

At home, you can cook delicious baked chestnut fruits. We offer a recipe for how to roast chestnuts in the oven without spending a lot of time. To do this, chestnuts in the amount of 20 pieces, which are laid out in a preheated oven, are baked for 35 minutes. They are cleaned while still warm.

Since you can bake chestnuts in the oven at home even before the arrival of guests, this will be a pleasant surprise, especially for those who love unusual and exotic dishes. Roasted chestnuts can be added to salads and other types of dishes. We offer a recipe for one of the salads with baked chestnuts, which is prepared according to the following principle:

Peel the chestnuts baked in the oven, add arugula, cherry tomatoes, Bell pepper and undercooked durum pasta.
The sauce is prepared separately - olive oil is mixed with lemon juice.
The ingredients are mixed and seasoned with sauce.

Vegetarian roast with chestnuts

This dish is popular among people who do not eat meat - vegetarians. The protein that prevails in chestnut fruits and mushrooms can replace meat. The method of preparing this dish is quite easy and will not take much time from the hostess.

Cooking

Mushrooms are fried and stewed with cognac until the liquid has completely evaporated.
Chestnuts are cleaned and crushed with hazelnuts.
On the olive oil fry garlic, onion. Add cumin with thyme.
All contents are mixed and placed in a mold, adding a little water.
Put the dish in a preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes.

chestnuts in milk

For this dish you will need:

Ingredients

chestnuts - 500 g;
milk - 0.5 l;
sugar (honey) - 2 tbsp. l.;
cinnamon - 1 pc.

Cooking

Peel fresh chestnuts.
Boil chestnut kernels for several minutes in water, then peel off the film.
Put the kernels in milk and add sugar or honey, cinnamon stick.
Put the container with milk and chestnuts on water bath and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes to soften the chestnuts.

This wonderful dessert will delight lovers of roasted and baked chestnuts with its unusual taste and original preparation.

Chestnuts are national pride and a highlight of French cuisine. However, they did not immediately fall into the category of exquisite delicacies. For a long time, this product was considered the food of the lower strata of the population - the poor. They simply collected ripe kernels and roasted them on hot coals. The tradition of selling hot chestnuts has been preserved to this day. Many tourists, traveling in France, could well see how this delicacy is prepared right on the street. Some, returning home from a trip, want to repeat cooking masterpiece and wonder why, when cooked, the kitchen becomes like a minefield - the chestnuts explode and scatter, and their taste is nothing like the original. The thing is that you need to know how to eat chestnuts, how to cook them properly and what varieties can generally be used.

What are chestnuts?

The first trees with edible kernels were brought to France from the East as early as the 13th century. Chestnuts were called breadfruit.

Edible chestnuts: benefits and harms, contraindications, how to cook edible chestnuts

It was believed that if someone has a seedling or an adult tree growing in the garden, then this person will always be full and rich. The chestnuts had another name. Due to the fact that pigs were fed with their fruits, the tree was called sausage.

However, it should be said that not all chestnuts can be eaten. An inedible variety is called horse, it is prepared from medications and tinctures. But the fruits of the edible, or noble, chestnut are just eaten and prepared from it. various dishes. This variety grows in southern Europe. Ripe fruits are harvested in late autumn. For better storage, each chestnut should be pricked in several places with a sharp needle.

Today it is the most gourmet delicacy served in France. The locals just love it. In October, they celebrate the festival of chestnuts, and also add these fruits to many dishes. They can be fried, steamed, added to sweets, ice cream, sausages and side dishes. Traditionally, chestnuts are used to stuff the Christmas turkey, and on the basis of a special paste, this product is used to prepare delicate creams for decorating cakes and pastries.

How are chestnuts prepared?

The most common way to prepare chestnuts is to roast their kernels over hot coals. So that during cooking they do not explode and do not fly over the brazier, small cuts are made on the hard shell sharp knife. This ancient technique has survived to this day, when chestnuts are cooked in a pan, in the oven or in the microwave. However, if you have been to France or watched travel videos, you may well have seen that street chefs do not make any cuts on the skin of the kernels when preparing this delicacy. The thing is that when frying a large number of chestnuts, cutting the shell of each of them is a rather laborious task. Therefore, the cook uses a special grate that prevents the kernels from scattering in different directions.

Baked chestnuts are far from the only way to prepare a delicacy. For example, this product may well replace potatoes in terms of taste. It will also turn out very tasty and fragrant pilaf, if you add several cores to it. Chestnuts are used for stuffing poultry, pork, they are added to sauces and sweets.

And from the peeled kernels of this tree, flour is made, which is used to make pies, pies, cakes, pancakes and other pastries. Chestnuts are glazed, and then they taste like sweets. Specially made paste is perfect for decorating cakes, making creams and jams. In addition, there is another chestnut product - honey.

How to eat chestnuts

If someone is interested in the question of how to eat chestnuts, it is worth noting that some rules for their use still exist. For example, they should not be eaten by pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding. It is worth refraining from absorbing delicacies and those who suffer from food allergies. Still, an unfamiliar product can cause an undesirable reaction of the body. Well, chestnuts are forbidden for those people who have a history of kidney failure.

You should also be careful when choosing the right kind. For example, when eating horse chestnut, you can get serious food poisoning. Yes, and edible varieties should be treated with caution, since the abuse of this product usually causes bloating and intestinal problems.

Roasted chestnuts

Most of us perceive chestnuts only as plants, but in fact they can also be an excellent delicacy. Lovers of unusual taste roast fresh chestnuts and eat them. It is worth noting that it is not only tasty, but also healthy, as they contain a lot of potassium, fiber, vitamins, ascorbic and folic acids.

Roasted chestnuts are sold right on the streets of many European cities, as well as roasted peanuts, and if you want to try this non-standard dish, we will tell you how to cook roasted chestnuts yourself. It is only worth remembering that there are several types of chestnuts and not all of them are safe and suitable for eating. Therefore, if you yourself do not know how to choose the right harmless fruits, then it is better to buy them in a store.

In addition, before starting cooking, the quality of chestnuts is also worth checking. To do this, put them in a pot of water and see which ones float to the surface. These fruits are spoiled and should not be eaten.

Roasted chestnuts - recipe

There are several ways to cook this food, but in this recipe we want to take a closer look at how to roast chestnuts in a pan.

First of all, you need to choose fresh chestnuts and wash them. After that, make a cross cut on each chestnut so that they do not explode when they are roasted. Take a pan with holes in the base (you can do without them), put the chestnuts on it and cover them with napkins or paper towels, well moistened with water and folded several times.

Close the pan with a lid, put on a small fire and cook your dish, shaking it occasionally so that all the chestnuts are evenly roasted. During frying, the condition of the napkins should be monitored, if they begin to dry out, they must be moistened in water, poured from a bottle, for example.

On average, chestnuts are roasted for about 20 minutes, their readiness can be determined by the condition of the peel. When it is already pretty dark and charred, remove the napkins and cook the dish for a couple more minutes, shaking the pan. Pour the finished chestnuts onto a dish and try immediately, as they are the most delicious when warm.

How to roast chestnuts in the oven?

If you do not have a pan suitable for roasting chestnuts or you prefer to cook your dishes in the oven, we will share a method on how to roast chestnuts in it properly.

Take fresh chestnuts, wash them and dry them. Then make a cross cut on one side of each and place them cut side up on a baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees and send the chestnuts into it for 20-30 minutes. Then take them out, wrap them in a towel and squeeze a little so that the peel is behind the pulp. Leave the chestnuts in a towel for 5 minutes and then serve.

How to roast chestnuts in the microwave?

The main condition for the safe preparation of chestnuts in the microwave is to make cuts, on each of them with a knife or pierce with a fork, so that steam comes out of them.

When all the fruits are ready, put them in a wide, but shallow dish for the microwave oven. Pour a few tablespoons of hot water there and sprinkle with a little salt. Cover the dish with a lid (preferably not glass) or cling film and turn on the microwave oven at full power for 6-8 minutes.

Taste the chestnuts and cook for a couple more minutes if needed. Please note that in the microwave you get not so much fried as steamed chestnuts. They taste very good in this form, but if you want, you can peel the fruits and fry the kernels for 4-5 minutes with or without oil. Well, if you want to try other dishes with these fruits, then it’s better to ask how to cook chestnuts.

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 to be small, like walnuts, while in Europe it is 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 even 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 managed 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 potato, which is baked on the streets of Asian cities. 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 on 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- these 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, put them with a lot of onions in a bowl, where 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 the chestnuts you need to add a spoon 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 mashed potatoes 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(m-m, with pine nuts and raisins), but probably most of us, especially children, love whole chestnuts: nibbling a nut large like an egg, besides with such an unusual taste - who doesn’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 forms. 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 latter are a ready-made 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.

1 What chestnut can be roasted
2 Benefits and harms of roasted chestnuts
3 Chemical composition and calories
4 What do roasted chestnuts taste like?
5 How to roast chestnuts in a pan
6 Roasted chestnuts in the microwave
7 Cooking in the oven
8 Chestnuts roasted on charcoal

Roasted chestnuts are a rare dish today. In Russia, it is regularly prepared only by residents of the Krasnodar Territory, since it is in this region that edible fruits grow. How to roast chestnuts, and which ones are suitable for cooking, we will consider in our article.

What chestnut can be roasted

The most common chestnut is horse chestnut. A tree with such fruits can be found in various Russian regions. But these chestnuts are completely unsuitable for food. Moreover, they are forbidden to eat. It is better to use them for making various crafts with children or for decorating the interior.

The fruits of the following tree varieties are suitable for cooking and eating:

sowing chestnut;
Chinese;
Japanese.

They can only be found in regions with a warm climate and high humidity. In Russia, this is the Krasnodar Territory. Also, such cultures grow in Azerbaijan, in the south of Ukraine, in Armenia, Spain, Italy, France. Such nuts do not store well and have a short shelf life, so they rarely find their way into stores in regions where they do not grow. Unless, in fresh-frozen and pickled form.

But for frying, fresh edible chestnuts are best suited.

The benefits and harms of roasted chestnuts

The unique composition of edible chestnuts makes them very beneficial for the human body, and low calorie(unlike other nuts) also allows you to add the product to the diet diet food. Chestnuts are also ideal for vegetarian menus. High content vegetable protein in the composition allows them to some extent replace meat in the human diet.

Roasted chestnuts have the following beneficial effects on the body:

improve the condition of blood vessels (it is especially useful to eat such nuts for varicose veins);
reduce and normalize the level of "bad" cholesterol in the blood;
normalize work nervous system;
heals and strengthens bone tissue, after injuries contribute to its natural recovery;
strengthen immunity;
normalize the work of the digestive tract;
increase endurance.

But we must not forget that there is a very thin line between the benefits and harms of the product under discussion. Therefore, one should not abuse such a treat in fried. For example, very large portions dishes can negatively affect the figure. Some losing weight, having learned that this type of nuts is one of the most low-calorie, begin to eat them in huge quantities. In this case, any diet will be in vain.

Roasted chestnuts are prohibited for use by people with severe pathologies of the heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract and blood diseases.

With extreme caution, you need to introduce them into the diet of women in an "interesting" position, nursing mothers and young children.

Chemical composition and calorie content

As noted above, the calorie content of such fried nuts turned out to be small. It is only 247.3 kcal per 100 g finished product. Carbohydrates predominate in its composition - more than 50 g per 100 g of product.

Of the trace elements in the treat under discussion, it contains a large amount of potassium and iron, as well as calcium, phosphorus, many B vitamins (including folic acid), vitamins C, E, K, PP, A, beta-carotene.

Separately, it is worth noting fatty and amino acids. Among the first: omega-3 and omega-6, among the latter: leucine, lysine, arginine, valine and others.

What do roasted chestnuts taste like?

Properly selected and cooked roasted chestnuts have pleasant taste. They resemble nuts prepared in the same way (most of all - peanuts) or seeds. The taste of the dish may vary slightly depending on the variety of chestnuts and the method of preparation.

Some gourmets note that charcoal-cooked fruits resemble fried potatoes with a sweetish aftertaste.

How to roast chestnuts in a pan

Ingredients:

chestnut nuts - 1 kilo;
any vegetable oil - ½ l.

Cooking:

Before frying chestnuts in a pan, the container must be filled almost to the top with high-quality refined vegetable oil.
When the fat warms up well, you can lower the fruits into it. It is very important to pre-cut each lightly or simply pierce with a fork.
Cover the parts of the chestnuts protruding from the oil with paper towels and moisten them periodically in fat so that the fruits do not dry out.
Cover the container with a lid. Cook the contents of the pan for half an hour on a fire slightly less than medium. Shake the nuts occasionally without removing the lid.

Serve the finished treat, sprinkled with salt or granulated sugar.

Roasted chestnuts in the microwave

To implement such a simple and fast way cooking chestnuts, they also need to be incised so that a hole appears for steam to escape.

Ingredients:

chestnuts - 1 kg;
hot water - 5 tbsp. l.;
salt - to taste.

Cooking:

Put the prepared fruits in a wide dish with low sides, which is suitable for a microwave oven.
Pour on top hot water. Salt fruits to taste.
Close the container with a lid. A glass plate is not suitable for this purpose! If a suitable cover is not at hand, you can take the film.
Cook the dish for 8 minutes at maximum power of the device.

Cooking in the oven

This method of cooking chestnuts allows you to make the treat less nutritious than when roasting in in large numbers oils. And the fruits in the process are perfectly baked.

Ingredients:

chestnuts - 1 - 2 kg.

Cooking:

Preheat the oven to 180 - 190 degrees.
Make an incision on each chestnut or pierce the fruit with a fork so that they do not explode during baking.
Lay the blanks on a baking sheet in one layer. Don't cover anything!
Send the chestnuts in this form to the oven for 35 - 40 minutes.
Serve the finished meal to the table.

Peeled chestnuts cooked in the oven can be used as the base of a salad. An ideal dressing for a snack with them will be olive oil with freshly squeezed citrus juice and spices.

Chestnuts roasted on charcoal

It is very convenient to cook chestnuts in nature. For example, on coals. But for this method of their preparation, you will need to arm yourself with a frying pan with a hole in the bottom.

Ingredients:

raw chestnuts - 1 serving.

Cooking:

According to this recipe, chestnuts should be roasted correctly on pre-prepared coals. A special frying pan with a perforated bottom is installed on top of them.
Chestnuts are poured into the container. Be sure to lay them in just one layer, otherwise the fruits will remain damp for a very long time. In advance, their skin must be cut with a sharp knife to a white layer.
Fry chestnuts without oil in a leaky pan for 15 - 17 minutes. In the process, constantly shake the container so that the fruits do not burn.

The heat should not come close to the chestnuts. They are cooked by the heat of the coals, not by an open flame.

Regardless of which method of roasting chestnuts is chosen, the dish will be really tasty only immediately after preparation. When the delicacy cools down or even lies down in the cool for several hours, it taste qualities worsen significantly. Therefore, it is worth trying a treat only freshly prepared.

Roasted chestnuts recipe It completely depends on what taste of the final product you want to get.

Chestnuts taste good with both salt and sugar. They absorb the taste of the ingredients that are used in cooking and are able to diversify any dish or table.

Due to their neutral flavor and low aroma, chestnuts are often used in appetizers, main courses, salads, soups, pastries, and desserts.

The main problem of people who want to try chestnuts for food is not knowing that chestnuts are not all suitable for eating. Forest chestnuts and those growing in cities are not suitable for human food, with the exception of the Caucasus.

Chestnuts for cooking can be bought in stores (supermarkets) or markets. Chestnuts need to be understood, as well as mushrooms, although they are not poisonous. The external distinguishing feature of an edible chestnut is a brown shell, the core of the chestnut is shiny.

Edible chestnuts are thermophilic. They can be found on their own, but they grow in the Caucasus region. Fresh chestnuts appear on sale in autumn.
In areas of traditional consumption, chestnuts are treated as a staple food. This is due to their "satiety" and nutritional characteristics, which are comparable to rice and potatoes.

Taste of roasted chestnuts difficult to describe clearly. It largely depends on the ingredients used in the preparation.

Raw chestnuts taste similar to unripe nuts, but less oily. Roasted chestnuts taste like potatoes.

How to cook over an open fire

This recipe for roasted chestnuts is often used during outdoor recreation. They are fried in a metal dish until cooked to taste, from 10 to 20 minutes. Serve hot, peeled off the shell.

The main rule when roasting chestnuts, which must always be remembered and observed, is the processing of the chestnut shell before frying. When heated, their shell bursts and destroys the core. Therefore, the shell is always cut in diameter, crosswise or simply pierced in several places.

Recipe for roasted chestnuts in the oven

If necessary, chestnuts are washed and dried. Be sure to process the shell with a sharp knife, cutting deep crosses on one side of the chestnut. Chestnuts are laid out on a pre-prepared baking sheet with the cut sides up.

The oven must be preheated to 190 degrees. A baking sheet with chestnuts is placed in a preheated oven. They can be considered ready after they release the juice. This will take approximately 20 minutes. After that, you can process the roasted chestnuts with any ingredients you like and hold for another 5 minutes in the oven to get delicious food.

Recipe for roasted chestnuts in a skillet

Mandatory processing of the shell, which can be done with a fork, piercing the shell to a third of the thickness of the chestnut or making deep cuts with a knife, with a cross. This will prevent them from exploding when heated up. There is a lot of juice in the chestnut, which turns into steam when heated and tends to break the chestnut. It is for the release of steam that the processing of the shell is done.

It is necessary to prepare a frying pan, a few napkins and half a glass of water. Chestnuts are loaded into a frying pan and covered with a layer of napkins moistened with water. Frying takes place over low heat for about 22 minutes. The pan is covered with a lid. Periodically stir the chestnuts. Dried wipes re-moisturize. This is done so that the chestnuts do not dry out and become too hard. If the processing of the shell was done poorly, some chestnuts may explode, this is not a problem.

At the end of cooking, you can treat the chestnuts with salt or sugar, or other ingredients to taste.

To check the readiness of the chestnuts, you can squeeze them. If the shell collapses and is removed with light effort, then the chestnuts are ready.

Surely, many have heard that in addition to the Eiffel Tower, numerous street vendors are the symbol of Paris. Indeed, right on the sidewalks there are miniature, and sometimes not very miniature braziers on which this simple delicacy is cooked.

Having tried it, many tourists ask themselves the question: “How to roast chestnuts at home? And how feasible is this? This can really be easily reproduced in your kitchen, having a gas or electric stove and a baking sheet or pan.

at home?

Before proceeding to the description of the process itself, let's talk about where to get raw materials for it. The fact is that the fruits of the growing in almost all regions of our country, except for the very horse chestnut, are not suitable for food. Yes, they are very beautiful - lacquered brown rounds, but they taste very bitter.

To do this, you need to go to the market or supermarket and purchase a completely different variety - edible trees. They even look different from the horse - much smaller, darker in color and one side is necessarily flat. Strictly speaking, they are not even chestnuts, since the tree on which they grow belongs to the beech family, but we will not go into botanical details now, since we need to eat them, not classify them.

How to roast chestnuts in a pan or on a baking sheet?

Before proceeding with the actual preparation of the dish, the fruits must be lowered into the water. In addition to the fact that dirt will be washed off from them, you can still reject spoiled chestnuts - they will simply pop up. They need to be thrown away, and the rest should be dried and pricked with a fork or cut with a knife. If this is not done, then during the cooking process, the water that the fruits are soaked in will boil and break the shell. That is, you get a series of miniature explosions - a kind of mini-cannonade in your kitchen, similar to the one that occurs when frying popcorn. But grains of corn are much smaller than chestnuts, so it is better not to bring them to such a state.

Another trick related to how to roast chestnuts at home is that the fruits laid on a baking sheet or pan must be covered with wet wipes. This will prevent them from drying out excessively during the cooking process and becoming hard. They will fry for about half an hour, and during this time you will need to replace the dried napkins with fresh ones a couple of times.

If you chose a skillet as a dish, then cover it with a lid, because, despite the cuts, some chestnuts can still explode, and you will have to collect them all over the kitchen. It is not necessary to cover the baking sheet, since these “jumps” will not be able to leave the oven.

The readiness of the fruit is determined simply - press the chestnut with your finger. If it's soft, then it's time to take it off the heat. Now you know how to roast chestnuts at home and you can enjoy this dish yourself and treat your loved ones without even being in Paris. And do not deny yourself the pleasure of trying raw fruits - they are also very tasty.