Chestnuts roasting on an open fire are synonymous with the festive
season, but remember, chestnuts are for life – not just for Christmas!
In The Food Programme, Rachel Roddy and Sheila Dillon share their love
of sweet chestnuts and their importance to both Italian and British
cooking. Here are nine crunchy facts about everyone’s favourite festive
nut.
1. You can cook chestnuts using a shovel
If you want to get into the traditional spirit and (in the words of the
famous yuletide song) roast your chestnuts on an open fire, then be sure
to score the skins so they don’t explode, pop them on a shovel, and
place them over the hot coals. Take care to turn them regularly so no
one side gets too charred and they are evenly cooked and tender. Too
much effort? Try toasting them on the hob in a heavy frying pan.
2. A damp tea towel can help to get the skins off
The contents might be delicious, but is it worth all the effort of
cracking and removing the stubborn shell? Thankfully, there is a simple
trick to help with this. To get the shells off chestnuts after roasting
them, wrap them in a slightly damp tea towel. The steam gets under the
shells and… Bob’s your uncle! There’s also the added benefit of being
able to warm your hands as you work.
3. The Romans planted chestnut trees across Europe
Sweet chestnuts were an important part of the Roman diet. They ground
them into flour or coarse meal to make bread, and Roman soldiers were
fed a type of porridge made from chestnuts before heading into battle.
Because they were such a crucial food source, the conquering Romans
planted sweet chestnut trees across Europe as they went – including
Britain.
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4. Chestnuts used to be a staple food in Italy
Until “the late 1950s, when the Italian economy took off, many Italians
did live in a constant state of food insecurity,” states Fabio
Parasecoli, Professor of Food Studies at the New York University. In
areas where it was hard to grow grain, chestnuts instead became the
staple food of the poor: “In areas on the Appennines in Central Italy,
people really focused on chestnuts, which grew really well in the area,”
Fabio says. They took care to multiply the chestnut forests so they had
an easy and cheap way to feed themselves – and a source of wood to
boot!
5. Roasted chestnuts are an Italian street food
Where we have hot dogs, the Italians have chestnuts. Throughout the
winter months you will find vendors on every street corner in Rome
serving freshly roasted sweet chestnuts (or “caldarroste&rdquo from
paper cups. These chestnuts come from Abruzzo, around 90 miles east of
the city, where there are hundreds of square miles of forests of sweet
chestnut trees.
6. Chestnuts are enormously versatile
We are of course partial to a roast chestnut, but the nut can also be
boiled, pureed, grilled, steamed, deep-fried, candied or (as
aforementioned) ground into flour. Chestnuts can be churned into ice
cream or stirred into savoury stuffings. Fabio Parasecoli still cooks up
his grandmother’s chestnut and chickpea soup on Christmas Eve, and the
Tuscans make a chestnut cake called “castagnaccio”, which combines
chestnuts, walnuts, olive oil, raisins and rosemary. However, the one
way you shouldn’t eat this versatile food is raw – chestnuts contain
tannic acid, which can upset the stomach!
The one way you shouldn’t eat this versatile food is raw – chestnuts contain tannic acid, which can upset the stomach!
7. The chestnut is the only nut that contains vitamin C
Chestnuts are a great source of potassium, as well as minerals such as
iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and zinc. They also
contain B vitamins and are low in fat. Most notably, however, they are
exceptionally rich in vitamin C – with a 30g serving providing 20% of
our recommended daily intake. The high concentration of vitamin C and
other antioxidants make them a friend to our immune system at the time
of year when we need it the most!
8. Over 80% of the world’s total crop emanates from China
These days we get most of our chestnuts from China. In fact, China
dominates the market, producing 22 times more chestnuts than the next
largest producing country. That’s over 80% of the world’s total crop! At
present the Chinese have a total crop of 1.8 million tonnes, but this
is expected to climb to over two million tonnes this year.
9. The oldest chestnut tree in the world grows on an active volcano
“Castagno dei Cento Cavalli” or “The Hundred-Horse Chestnut”, is the
largest and oldest known chestnut tree in the world. It is between 2,000
and 4,000 years old and, when it was measured in 1780, had a
circumference of 190 feet. The tree has now split in to several large
trunks but they still share the same roots. The tree sits on the eastern
slope of Mount Etna, just 8km from the Sicilian volcano's crater!
According to legend, the tree gained its name after a Queen and her
entourage of a hundred knights took shelter under its branches during a
storm.
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