Chestnut season

[Jack Stanley]

The chestnuts are dropping from a hybrid tree I planted several years ago . I finally have enough I can do something with , unfortunately we haven't had chestnut trees in this area for so long nobody remembers how to fix them . Or store them or get them out of the shell .

Any ideas ?

Thanks , Jack

[DIRT Farmer]

I put them in a dish in the microwave and nuke them up toasty. The kids would just toss them in and when they stopped zinging around they are done. Chestnuts roasting in the microwave does not have quit the nastoliga though.

[dominicfortune00]

We used to grow chestnuts until the trees died.

There must be another chestnut tree around as you need two trees to get chestnuts.

What I used to do with them was once the spiked ball falls to the ground, I step on them and drag my boot along the ground to open the ball up to get at the chestnuts with out getting stuck by the needle sharp spikes, (the tips of which break off and embed themselves in your skin when touched).

I would store the wet freshly picked chestnuts in a paper bag and shake them twice a day to mix them up and prevent them from getting moldy while they dry off.

To cook I would make a X in the shell and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or so. Remove from oven, remove shell and fuzzy skin under the shell and eat. I like them with butter cooked this way.

Another way to fix them would be to boil them with anise seed. Could be eaten this way hot or cold.

Yet another way is to dry them at a low temperature with smoke, then after dried hard grind them up for flour. My gramma grew up in Italy and told me that in the houses there, they have a special place above the fireplace that they would store the chestnuts and the smoke from the fire would dry and smoke them. Makes very good fritters mixed with water and a little salt and fried in olive oil.

The chestnut flour can also be mixed with water and cooked down as a jam.

As to long term storage, freezing is probably best. When you store them in a dry place there is always a chance that they will get moldy.

Good Luck beating the deer to the chestnuts, they love them.

[Jack Stanley]

So far the deer haven't figured out what they are . I found some tooth marks on one but it was unconsumed . I do try to get out everyday and pick them up so they don't "discover" them .

I have two trees big enough to give about a coffee can of nuts and three more that just got big enough to add pollen but didn't produce yet . The one tree is some kind of Manchurian if I remember . The others are a seed grown "Douglas" hybrid these four are what survived of twenty-five trees I planted fifteen years ago .

This is the first time the spike balls have fallen with the nuts , usually the spike opens on the tree and the nuts fall . I'm thinking the pollen got inturupted by all the rain this past spring . Some are opening as normal so I do have to be after them so the deer don't find them .

I tried exploding them in the microwave so rather than clean that up I would boil them for three minutes and let the water cool to just warm and peel them . So how does put an "X" on all of them without slicing fingers ...... other than be careful of course .

Jack

[WILCO]

Good info and more topics on chestnuts at the bottom of page:
http://homecooking.about.com/od/nuts/a/chestnuttips.htm

[dominicfortune00]

So how does put an "X" on all of them without slicing fingers ...... other than be careful of course .

I used a sharp paring knife, set the chestnut on a cutting board, hold the chestnut down on the cutting board, and cut a X into the chestnut with the point of the knife. You don't have to go in very deep, not more than 1/8 inch or so.

The shell on a chestnut isn't very hard, it's more leathery. Cuts easy enough with a sharp knife.

[Jack Stanley]

I wandered through that website that Wilco posted . Did ya know they got a special lttle knife for cutting the "X" ? It sorta reminds me of a miniature hawkbill knife , I'm thinking a utility knife with a new blade will let me try these out and keep my fingers .

Jack

[DIRT Farmer]

I never had them explode, but they would pop and the steam would bounce them around the boal

[Changeling]

I have 1 tree called a Quing Chestnut tree witch is some sort of Hybrid! Highly recommended when I bought it!

What do I need for another tree to make this one produce chestnuts? It only produces retarded **** at this point. How far away does the second tree have to be???

[dominicfortune00]

What do I need for another tree to make this one produce chestnuts? It only produces retarded **** at this point. How far away does the second tree have to be???

Yes, you need another chestnut tree so your tree will produce chestnuts instead of empty spike balls.

As a happy coincidence, both trees will produce chestnuts.

Another chestnut tree, maybe of the same type since it is a hybrid is what you need.

Being a hybrid, I don't know if it would cross polinate with another breed of chestnut tree.

As far as spacing, in the same yard is good. Probably wouldn't want the second one to be more that a hundred feet from the first.

Ours were about 20 feet apart.

You might have to wait a bit until the second tree matures to the point that it has catkins in the spring, then you'll start geting chestnuts.

[Jack Stanley]

My two biggest ones are about a hundred feet apart and the smaller ones are in the middle . The little ones are just getting big enough to add pollen to the area .

I tried the utility knife on a few for lunch today , put 'em in the toasteroven for twenty minutes at four hundred degrees . Some peeled OK and others didn't do so well , Maybe a bigger cut in the hull will work .

Jack

[Johnch]

Anyone got a few extra chestnuts?

Not going to eat them
I would like to plant a few more

As I have 2 trees that just started producing nuts this year
But only 8 and they are small

I would like to start a few more , plant 4 more in the yard and as many as I can along side the shell bark Hickorys in the woods

John

[Changeling]

Anyone got a few extra chestnuts?

Not going to eat them
I would like to plant a few more

As I have 2 trees that just started producing nuts this year
But only 8 and they are small

I would like to start a few more , plant 4 more in the yard and as many as I can along side the shell bark Hickorys in the woods

John

Hi John, don't just look for chestnuts, check with your states Agriculture extension service what the best cultivators are and producers for your area.

Take care.

[BD]

We boil them for just a few minutes then let'em cool. This makes them sweet and the shells a little soft. Then you crack them in half with your teeth and bite each half to squeeze out the meat. prepared this way it's easy to carry a hand full with you hunting to eat as snacks and they'll keep a week or so if they're out of the sun. There were still some trees around in PA when I was growing up. Then I forgot about them for about 40 years until we had a few trees around the rental were we lived in NY. Down south here I have to buy them. The french add a little simple syrup and puree the softened meats to make "creme de Maroon" which is excellent in turkey stuffing and deserts.
BD

[reloader28]

This is a stupid question, but what does a chestnut taste like?
All we have here are pine cones.
Is it like an almond or a peanut or what?
Are they good on an open fire?

[home in oz]

A hickory nut tastes better than a chestnut.

[home in oz]

So far the deer, and pigs beat us to the hickory nuts, and the pecans.

[Jack Stanley]

This is a stupid question, but what does a chestnut taste like?
All we have here are pine cones.
Is it like an almond or a peanut or what?
Are they good on an open fire?

Now , I've heard stupid questions before but that one doesn't qualify in my opinion . They don't taste like either almond or peanut , I'd say more like a potato that is slightly sweet . But not like a sweet potato.

A few years ago when the tree just started to produce I had a pocketfull of them . I had a fire going inside of a cast iron ring that had been part of a old coal furnace . It has a small ledge just big enough to set the chestnuts on and I set a few there . I watched as the heat changed the color halfway on the shell then turned them and did the other side . They were about the texture of a boiled potato when I got the shell off . I'm thinking maybe a bowl of them with garlic butter might be kinda yummy .

Jack

[Idaho_Elk_Huntr]

I would buy a large flat rate box of chestnuts if anyone has them for sale. Cant get them out here and I havent had them for about 10 years.

[Just Duke]

I would buy a large flat rate box of chestnuts if anyone has them for sale. Cant get them out here and I havent had them for about 10 years.

Put me down for a box also.