Sweet Chestnuts can be cooked or stored and are very nutrtitious.
The Sweet Chestnut Tree (latin name – Castanea sativa) grows to a height of about 30m.
The Sweet Chestnut produces spiny fruit which encase the edible chestnut, traditionally roasted in bonfires
This is How To Store Sweet Chestnuts:
- dry nuts in a very low oven until hard
- store in a dry jar in a cool, dark cupboard
- dry chestnuts will keep for years
- to reconstitute dry nuts, put in boiling water to cover for an hour or so and use as recipe.
sweet-chestnut-tree
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 at this time of year; they can be cooked or stored.
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Watercress is classed as a superfood because it has high levels of antioxidants which increase the ability of cells to resist damage to their DNA, helping to protect against cancer.
The nutritional value of watercress:
- high levels of Calcium (more than an average glass of milk)
- high levels of Vitamin A, E, K, C
- high in Iron
Read more about the superfood watercress at www.thewatercresscompany.com
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Leeks are a superb food. Leeks are high in:
- folic acid
- potassium
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C.
Leeks contain sulphur-rich compounds which have been shown to thin the blood, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Click this link to find the nutritional value/100 grams raw leek.
leek-dug-Pandora
- grown only in Britain
- stores well – ours are keeping particularly well this year
- the best apple for cooking
- versatile – good with pork as apple sauce, or with brambles as a pudding. We are enjoying stewed Bramleys with porridge during this cold snap!
Nutritional Value of Bramley apples
Bramley apples contain:
- antioxidants, including polyphenols,
- flavonoids
- vitamins C & A
- potassium, calcium & iron
- fibre
Bramley Apple Week 2010 is a reminder that an apple a day is the road to good health.
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“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” because the nutritional value is so good – as shown for Bramley apples below:
1 medium Bramley apple weighing 154gm has:
- calories 80 (0 calories from fat)
- total fat 0
- cholesterol o
- sodium 0
- total carbohydrate 22g
- dietary fibre 5g
- sugars 17g
- protein 0g
- vitamin A 2% of daily requirement
- vitamin C 20% of daily requirement
- calcium 2% of daily requirement
- iron 2% of daily requirement
apple-harvest
Growing peas just for shoots is a novel idea.
Pea shoots are the leaves & stem from the top 2 to 6 inches of a younger pea plant, & include two
to four pairs of leaves and immature tendrils. They sometimes have small flower buds amongst them.
Two or three cuts of shoots are taken from each batch of seeds.
pea shoots
How To Grow Pea Shoots:
1. plant in early spring or late summer as peas grow best in cool weather. Young pea plants can withstand a little frost, though frost may damage the flowers and pods. As a winter crop, peas tolerate temperatures down to 28°F (-2°C) in the seedling stage, but top growth may be damaged when the temperature falls below freezing.
2. choose varieties suited for this such as:
3. plant:
- 1 inch deep
- 2 – 4 inches between peas (much closer than if growing for actual peas)
4. clip off the growing points plus one pair of leaves to encourage branching, when plants are 6 to 8 inches tall. These clippings are the first pea shoot harvest.
5. every three to four weeks – clip the top 2 to 6 inches of each plant.
6. keep harvesting until shoots taste bitter, late in the growing season. Three cuts per batch of seed is average.
7. wash and spin dry harvested pea shoots as you would lettuce.
Use pea shoots:
- in salads
- as a garnish
- lightly steamed and eat as a hot vegetable
Pea-shoots are a good source of vitamin K, C and are especially high in vitamin A.
Growing pea shoots is an easy way to produce fresh vegetables full of vitamins.
4 Comments »
Boy we are going to have the best vegetables ever with all of your helpful
hints. Our peas, sugar snaps, are about one inch out of the ground outside.
There is netting for them to attach to, is that right? I can’t wait to taste
the tips and have bushier plants as well. Great!
Frances at Faire Garden
Comment by Frances – March 10, 2008 11:39 am
Hi Frances
I am not sure if you will do your sugar snaps much good by taking off the tips
if you are wanting them to climb up the netting and produce mange tout. I
think you have to go for one or the other – pea shoots or mangetout.
You could try taking the shoots off one plant – and see how it does, or
alternatively- plant a few more specially for pea shoots!
TopVeg
Comment by TopVeg – March 10, 2008 11:54 am
Can you do this with pole beans ? I just finished with my last harvest off of
my beans, but getting ready to plant again. They grow sooo fast down here.
Comment by Deb – March 11, 2008 4:25 pm
Hi Deb
Not sure how tender and sweet they would taste. Sugar snap & mangetout peas
are particularly well suite for shoot harvest.
Why not try a few pole beans and let us know how you get on? It is worth a go!
TopVeg
ripe-pear
Nutritional value of Pears
* good source of dietary fibre (4 grams in a medium sized pear)
* good source of Vitamin C
* no saturated fat, salt or cholesterol
* a medium sized pear contains about 100 calories
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Strawberries are very healthy to eat.
Strawberries are:
* rich in vitamin C
* a good source of folic acid
* high in fibre.
ripening-strawberries
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