Fresh Italian Chestnuts

Chestnuts are the edible fruit of deciduous trees in the family Castanea, which grows in Europe, North America, and Asia. Chestnuts grow in clusters of up to seven nuts inside inedible spiny husks. The nut inside is smooth, shiny, and dark brown in color. Available from late September until January, chestnuts are at their peak over the festive season. 

While they can be eaten raw, chestnuts are usually cooked with common techniques including boiling, roasting, steaming, deep-frying, or even microwaving. Once cooked, they have a soft texture and a mild, buttery, sweet flavor that resembles sweet potatoes. They are sometimes used in soups and stews in the same manner as potatoes, or boiled and then mashed and served with butter. They're also used in stuffings, in savory meat dishes and in desserts. 

How to cook Chestnuts

Fresh Chestnuts are ideal as a festive snack as well as to prepare a delicious stuffing for your Thanksgiving turkey or to accompany a roasted chicken or meatloaf.

The best and most common way of cooking Chestnuts and bring out their fullest flavor is to roast them in the oven or over a fire. Roasting chestnuts is ideal when you want to enjoy them straight away or use them into a stuffing mix.  Chestnuts can also be boiled. Boiling will give them a smooth texture for cooking in soups or purées.  

When cooking Chestnuts the first step is to score the skin with a sharp knife to avoid bursting during cooking and to make it easier to remove the skin once they are cooked. For oven roasting put them on a baking sheet and cook them at 400F for 20/30 minutes. For boiling, prepare them the same way by scoring the skin and then cook them in boiling water for about 30 minutes.

Storage: keep fresh chestnuts in their shells and store them in the refrigerator for up to one month

Weight: 1lb (454g), 2.2lb (1kg), 11lb (5kg)

 

Product of Italy

Video by Piatto via https://www.youtube.com/c/piatto