21 Chestnut Recipes That Demand a Spot on Your Holiday Table (2024)

FAQs

What are the side effects of chestnuts? ›

American chestnut might cause some side effects such as stomach and intestinal problems, kidney and liver damage. Pregnancy and breast-feeding: There isn't enough reliable information to know if American chestnut is safe to use when pregnant or breast-feeding.

Chestnuts are also eaten as a stuffing or cooked with pheasant, duck, goose, and chicken. Chestnut-fed pork and beef are considered a delicacy because the chestnuts impart a sweet flavor to the meat. Pigs are fed on chestnuts to produce such specialties as the Serrano hams in Italy and 'jamón ibérico' in Spain.

Oven-roasting chestnuts is the best way to bring out the fullest flavour (if you want to eat them straight away or chop them into your stuffing mix). Boiling them will give a smooth texture for cooking in soups or purées.

Roasting chestnuts can give them a tender texture while bringing out their natural sweetness. You don't necessarily need to soak them before roasting them, but it can go a long way in helping you to remove the shells after they're done cooking.

Raw chestnuts are safe to eat for most people. However, they do contain tannic acid, which means they could cause stomach irritation, nausea, or liver damage if you have liver disease or experience a lot of kidney problems.

May aid heart health

Chestnuts are also a good source of potassium, providing 11% of your daily needs. Potassium is important for a healthy heart and helps regulate your blood pressure ( 10 , 11 ).

Just 10 roasted chestnuts include 17% of what you need for the day — a major plus considering most of us don't get nearly enough. Americans eat on average about 16 grams of fiber per day, half of the recommended amount of 25 to 30 grams.

Improves cardiovascular health

They reduce any inflammation in the body which reduces any risk of strokes, heart attacks, blood clots, arthrosclerosis and coronary disease. People with a history of heart disease in the family can benefit by eating a handful of these delicious nuts every day.

Cooking them before you eat them, though not required, is strongly recommended, says Applegate. “It makes the starch more digestible.” The best cooking method depends on how you plan to use them, Kamp says. For snacks and salads, you want to keep the chestnuts dry, so roasting is her pick.

In a large pot add enough water to cover the chestnuts and bring to a boil. Add the chestnuts and cook for approximately 45 minutes. Drain the chestnuts and peel off the outer shells.

Can you eat raw chestnuts? ›

Raw: Although European chestnuts are not worth eating raw, ours are great! You can just bite the nut in half; the shell is NOT hard but leathery. If you can bite carrots, you can bite chestnuts. Just pick the white meat out and eat.

But be careful: If you see this as a licence to eat too many chestnuts, you should not overdo it. Chestnuts contain a lot of healthy ingredients, but also relatively many calories (100g contains more than 200 kcal).

If you over-cook OR under-cook them, they will get hard and the inner skin will be very difficult to remove. Now comes the hard part: peeling them! You need to peel them while they are still warm. Let them cool just enough so that you can touch them, then start peeling.

Cooked Chestnuts can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Cooked and Peeled Chestnuts store perfectly in the freezer for year-round goodness.

Certain people with severe intestinal issues, kidney problems, liver disease, and those who are pregnant, should avoid raw chestnuts. These nuts are usually boiled or roasted before eating due to the high levels of tannic acid.

The American Chestnut almost went extinct

The blight creates a ring of lesions around the tree's trunk, preventing nutrients from reaching the branches. While the Asian trees were resistant to it, the American variety was highly vulnerable. By 1950, approximately four billion American Chestnut trees had died.

But be careful: If you see this as a licence to eat too many chestnuts, you should not overdo it. Chestnuts contain a lot of healthy ingredients, but also relatively many calories (100g contains more than 200 kcal).