Sweet Chestnuts can be cooked or stored and are very nutritious.
The Sweet Chestnut Tree (latin name – Castanea sativa) grows to a height of about 30m.
sweet chestnut tree
The Sweet Chestnut produces spiny fruit which encase the edible chestnut, traditionally roasted in bonfires.
This is How To Store Sweet Chestnuts:
- dry sweet chestnuts in a very low oven until hard
- store in an airtight dry jar in a cool, dark cupboard
- dry sweet chestnuts will keep for years
- to reconstitute dry sweet chestnuts, put in boiling water to cover for an hour or so and use as recipe.
sweet chestnuts
The nutritional value of sweet chestnuts is high:
- the only nut containing vitamin C
- full of fibre – 4.1gfibre/100g chestnut
- trace elements including potassium, iron, zinc and manganese
- gluten free
- no cholesterol
- calories in 50g serving (5 chestnuts) = 85kcal
- low in fat – 2.7g fat/100g – less than 1/3 of the calories of pistachios
To Cook a Chestnut snack:
- roast for 20 minutes in a hot oven until the skin comes off
- peel
- eat pure or cover with favourite seasoning
It is fun collecting the nutritious sweet chestnuts in the autumn; they can be cooked or stored.