Chestnut is a fairly common plant belonging to the genus beech. This tree grows in Asia, Europe and North America. In nature, there are 2 types of chestnut, but only 1 of them is edible. People call it "noble." The fruits, bark and leaves of this plant have both positive and negative properties. In this article we will talk about the benefits and harms of edible chestnuts.

The benefits of edible chestnuts

Edible chestnut is not only tasty, but also a very healthy dish. This product boasts the following beneficial properties:

Edible chestnuts boast a unique composition. So, for example, in the fruits of this plant there is very little fat (no more than 5%), which favorably distinguishes chestnuts from most nuts and seeds. Chestnut also contains 60% starch, 15% sugar and 6% protein. And this is not all the beneficial substances that make up this plant. The composition of the chestnut includes beneficial minerals, vitamins A, C, B, fiber. Saponins, which are part of the fruit, increase vascular tone and stimulate the production of adrenal hormones.

It should be noted that absolutely all parts of this plant boast a large number of nutrients. So, for example, in the cortex and branches of the chestnut contains many tannins (denature protein cells and form a protective film that has bactericidal properties), glycosides and oils. The fruits themselves contain a lot of pectin, flavonoid and other biologically active substances. Edible chestnut leaves are used to prepare healthy tinctures, which are used as hemostatic agents in the presence of internal bleeding. From the fruits of the plant, you can also cook a healing tincture, which has proven itself as an anti-burn, healing and astringent.

This plant boasts a vasodilating effect. Due to this, there is a decrease in the fragility of capillaries, acceleration of blood flow, resorption of blood clots and an increase in the tone of dilated veins. These beneficial properties are very effective in the treatment of hemorrhoids and thrombophlebitis. So, for example, to treat hemorrhoids, you need to cook a tincture from the fruits and bark of the plant. First you need to finely chop the bark and fruits of the chestnut. After that, 5 g of raw materials must be filled with 1 cup of boiling water. The product should be infused for at least 30 minutes. Next, the tincture should be filtered and add 1 glass of boiling water to it. The finished medicine should be taken orally 3 times a day for 1 spoon.

This product is recommended for people who monitor their weight. The thing is that chestnuts have a low calorie content. 100 g of product contains only 180 kcal. It is almost impossible to recover even from a large number of chestnuts.

Many ladies with varicose veins prefer to fight this unpleasant ailment with the help of an edible chestnut. For a good result, you should daily wipe the problem areas of the legs with a decoction of the fruits of this plant. The broth is prepared very easily. 1 kg of fruit should be ground and the resulting powder boiled in 5 liters of water for 30 minutes. In the resulting consistency, it is necessary to moisten the bandages and wrap them around the problem areas. After 30 minutes, the bandage can be removed. You can also add the finished broth to the bath.

Chestnut boasts its energy properties. With this product, you can get rid of malaise and give the body an incredible amount of strength. To recharge, you just need to carry with you just 2 nuts of a chestnut.

Chestnut has also established itself in the treatment of various breast diseases. In this case, a couple of nuts can be carefully placed in a bra. For example, chestnuts help in the fight against mastopathy, mastitis and stagnation of milk during breastfeeding. The fruits of this plant are also used for breast massage.

From the young leaves of the "noble" chestnut, a decoction is prepared to treat such a serious ailment as whooping cough.

With the help of a decoction from the bark of this tree, diseases of the stomach and kidneys are treated. Among other things, such a drug will help in the presence of pustules.

Ointments and creams are prepared from various parts of this plant, with which you can cure cystitis and dysentery.

Healing infusion is prepared from the seeds and flowers of the chestnut, with the help of which the wounds on the body are processed. Flowers for infusion are collected strictly at the beginning of flowering plants. Next, juice is squeezed out of these flowers, which is then diluted in water (ideal proportion - 30/1).

Edible chestnut remedies are used for pain during menstruation. Using a decoction of these nuts, you can get rid of heavy menstruation and discomfort during menopause. To prepare the broth, 30 drops of the juice of the chestnut inflorescences should be mixed with 1 tablespoon of water. For a positive result, you should use this tool twice a day.

Noble chestnuts are used for tuberculosis and malaria.

The fruits of edible chestnut are very tasty and nutritious. They can be consumed both raw and fried and boiled. Baked chestnuts are very popular among lovers of this delicacy. Baked nuts are pretty easy. Each fetus must be cut off the tip. If you neglect this procedure, then the chestnuts can simply explode. After that, the fruits can be placed in the oven for 20 minutes. Ready chestnuts are peeled and consumed with butter.

Cooked chestnuts are also considered very tasty. All fruits are thoroughly peeled, poured with cool water and put on fire. Cook nuts should be no more than 20 minutes, since during this time they have time to soften. Cooked chestnuts are also served along with butter.

Harm of edible chestnuts

In addition to the benefits, this plant can bring harm to the body, so before using chestnuts, you must always consult a doctor. So, for example, the fruits of this tree can not be used during pregnancy or during the period of feeding the baby.

In no case should you abuse this product. Overeating fruits often leads to bloating, constipation and diarrhea. It is also not advisable to eat chestnuts for people with heart problems and congenital renal failure. It is strictly forbidden to give chestnuts to patients with diabetes mellitus and blood diseases.

Chestnut is rather poorly combined with willow and oak bark, so it is strictly forbidden to use these products together. Such procedures can dry out even the most oily skin type. That is why, before combining chestnut products with other folk recipes, you should consult your doctor.

Some people have an individual intolerance to this product. In this case, as a rule, after eating this product, vomiting and nausea appear. If there are side effects, edible chestnuts should be discarded immediately.

Often people confuse edible chestnut with horse chestnut, which is not eaten. If you eat several horse chestnuts, you can earn poisoning. The thing is that such fruits contain a lot of tannins. To distinguish edible nuts from inedible nuts is quite simple. Edible chestnuts have a small crest located on the tip of the cone.

Chestnut is a beautiful tree, especially at the time of flowering, when its large paniculate inflorescences give the tree an elegant, festive appearance, a genus of plants from the dish-bearing family. About 30 species of trees or shrubs, characteristic of the temperate and tropical zones. The most important species is considered ordinary chestnut (C. vulgaris), in southern. Europe, in Crimea, Transcaucasia, Africa, south. Asia and America. It has long been bred for the sake of the fruit, and sometimes reaches a deep age, up to 1000 years. The wood is very durable, goes to barrel and joinery. Mealy and sweetish chestnut fruits are a commodity in southern countries.

Now you can buy different varieties of chestnuts, but the most popular Christmas variety is sweet chestnuts. They are grown in many parts of the world, but be careful not to try decorative varieties growing on the streets.

Under natural conditions, grows in the south of the Balkan Peninsula (Greece, Bulgaria) at an altitude of up to 1200 m above sea level. In culture, it is widely distributed not only in the subtropical, but also in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere, in areas with a humid and warm climate.

Before Christmas, on the streets of many European cities you can see how chestnuts are baked. This ancient tradition began many years ago when special pans were made for baking chestnuts. To bake chestnuts at home, you first need to clean them from the outer shell and bitter membranes, then rub them with a brush to erase all the dirt, put them on skewers or just make small cuts in the skin and put on an open fire (if you don't make an incision, they can explode).

Calorie chestnut

Chestnuts are high in carbohydrates. In 100 g of fresh product - 166 kcal, in 100 g of cooked and stewed chestnuts - 131 kcal. The calorie content of roasted chestnuts is 182 kcal. The lowest calorie are steamed chestnuts, as they contain only 56 kcal, but retain all the nutrients.

Nutritional value per 100 grams:

Seeds contained in fruits include coumarin glycosides, triterpene escin, fatty oil (up to 5-7%), protein substances (up to 10%), starch (up to 50%), tannins (about 1%). Glycosides, tannins, sugars, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and other compounds were found in the cortex. Leaves contain glycosides, pectin and carotenoids. The flowers are rich in flavonoids, tannins, pectin and mucus.

The fruits and chestnut bark contain triterpene glycoside escin, coumarin esculletin and its glycoside esculin. In addition, flavonoid glycosides were found - quercetrin, isocvercitrin, quercetin and kempferol. Starch, fatty oil, sterols, tannins were found in the fruits. Quercetrin, isocvercitrin, quercetin, rutin and spireoside, astragaline, carotenoids - lutein, violaxanthin were found in the leaves. The content of active substances in the leaves almost does not change during the summer. The flowers contain flavonoids - derivatives of kempferol and quercetin.

It has been experimentally established that alcoholic extract of fruits has anti-inflammatory and anti-edematous properties, reduces blood viscosity, strengthens the walls of capillaries, lowers blood pressure, normalizes cholesterol and lecithin in the blood, and reduces the formation of fatty plaques in the aorta. It is also known that the extract constricts blood vessels and acts as an anesthetic. Usually, ready-made pharmacy preparations of escusan and esflazide are used.

Galenic horse chestnut preparations are widely used in folk medicine: flower juice is drunk with varicose veins (thrombophlebitis), atherosclerosis, and hemorrhoids. Juice of flowers, preserved by alcohol, tincture of flowers or fruits are useful for thrombophlebitis and hemorrhoids; fruit infusion - with diarrhea (diarrhea), malaria and chronic bronchitis in smokers. A decoction of the skin of the fruit is used for uterine bleeding. Freshly chopped leaves and fruit tincture are also used externally.

For the preparation of medicines, bark of young branches, leaves, flowers and fruits are harvested. The bark is harvested in spring, cut into pieces and dried immediately after harvest in the open air. Flowers are harvested in May. They are pulled off from inflorescences and dried on the first day in the sun, and then under a canopy, in the open air. Leaves are collected during flowering, without stalks, spread in a thin layer under a canopy or in a well-ventilated room. This type of raw material is exported. Fruits are harvested during the period of their full maturity, when they fall out of the leaves. Dry them in a warm, ventilated area.

Hazardous properties of chestnuts

Chestnut is an allergen, so it is contraindicated in case of individual intolerance. People with sugar

Chestnut is one of the most beautiful plants on the planet. Its large flowers, delicate leaves and fruits in a prickly shell remind of something mythical. And indeed, an ancient legend says that this tree was created by Jupiter. The loving god long pursued the beautiful nymph Ney, who, unable to withstand his onslaught, committed suicide. Feeling guilty, Jupiter turned the nymph into an amazingly beautiful tree. So it began to be called Castanea (from the Latin. "Casta" - virgin, "Nea" - the name of the nymph).

Oh Paris ...

For many, edible chestnuts are associated with the city of lovers - Paris. After all, it is in France that these fruits are considered a national product. A traditional holiday dedicated to sweet chestnut is held here annually. If someone didn’t have a chance to visit it, shots from French films still come to mind, where sellers roast edible chestnuts in huge frying pans on the street. One can only imagine what a wonderful aroma fills the streets of Paris at this time.

To many, the smell of roasted chestnuts evokes thoughts of a distant childhood, reminiscent of baked potatoes in a bonfire, the scent of hazelnuts, the fragrance of baked bread and something else elusive.

This delicacy is prepared quite simply. Today, chestnuts can be bought both in the market and in the supermarket. In Europe, right up to Christmas, these fruits are fried directly on the streets.

Types of Chestnut

A noble (sweet) chestnut is a fast-growing, long-lasting tree. It was introduced to England from Asia Minor and southern Europe. The plant grows in America and Asia. In Russia, it can be found on the Black Sea coast. Chestnut has been growing for twenty years, reaching a height of thirty meters. The leaves of the plant are carved, beautiful, long - up to 25 cm. At the height of summer, earrings appear on the branches, which then turn into fruits. Unripe chestnuts are hidden in spiky shells. They ripen in the fall and fall to the ground with leaves. It is then that edible chestnuts are harvested. The benefits and harms of these fruits depend on the type of plant.

There is an inedible kind of chestnut - horse. It is not suitable for food, but from its leaves, bark, fruits, flowers, medicines are made that help with many ailments. So, horse chestnut extract is useful as:

• Anti-inflammatory agent. Fresh leaves are used for whooping cough, and decoction of leaves and fruits - for various inflammation of the respiratory tract.
• Vasoconstrictor. Accelerates blood flow, dilates arteries, reduces blood coagulation, strengthens capillaries.
• An indispensable remedy for relieving foot fatigue. Helps with varicose veins.

Edible chestnut: useful properties

The fruits of the chestnut are nuts. They contain 60% starch, 17% sugar, 3.5% fiber, 6% protein, only 2% fat, a huge amount of mineral and biologically active substances, flavonoids, tannins, oils, vitamins A, B, C. Edible chestnuts have useful substances not only in fruits, but also in leaves (carotenoids, rutin), bark, flowers (flavonoid glycosides, escin).

This plant is widely used in folk medicine. From it make decoctions, infusions, alcohol tinctures. The tree has a strong energy due to the generous southern sun. Medicines prepared on the basis of edible chestnut have anti-inflammatory, astringent, antitussive, hemostatic and diuretic properties.

Sweet chestnut flowers are the rarest honeybees. Caucasian bees produce a unique product from their nectar. Chestnut honey can only be tasted in the mountains of the Caucasus. Its taste and medicinal qualities have made this product especially popular among visitors to local honey shops.

According to supporters of traditional medicine, the benefits of an edible chestnut are palpable even if you simply carry fruits in your pocket in your pocket. The energy of the southern plant protects against ailments and improves well-being.

Can the use of chestnuts harm?

Do not confuse horse chestnut and edible chestnuts, the benefit and harm in this case can go hand in hand. Only Castanea sativa is suitable for food. In our country, it grows on the Black Sea coast. Eating horse chestnut for food can even cause poisoning. Often, sweet chestnut is confused with an ordinary stomach, be careful, because the second product can also adversely affect health. To be sure of the benefits of the fruit, it is better to buy them in the market or in the store.

Do not abuse sweet chestnut as a food product. Too many eaten fruits can cause an allergic reaction, an uncomfortable state in the gastrointestinal tract: bloating, nausea, diarrhea. It is categorically contraindicated to consume chestnut fruits to people suffering from:

• Kidney disease, renal failure.
• Urolithiasis.
• Hypotension.
• Kidney dysfunction.

Chestnuts should also be excluded from the diet for individuals with individual intolerance to any of the components that make up the product. These fruits should not be used by pregnant women and nursing mothers.

The calorie content of edible chestnut

Edible chestnuts are unlikely to be suitable for fasting days or any diets. Everyone knows that any nut in itself is very high in calories. Chestnut is no exception to this rule. The high content of starch, as well as protein provides a high calorie content of this product, it reaches up to 200 calories in 100 grams. When roasted, nuts become even more high-calorie. In its composition, 100 g of fresh product has a protein of -1.63 g, carbohydrates - 44.17 g, fat - 1.25 g.

Edible chestnuts: how to cook?

How to use these fruits in cooking? So, chestnuts are cooked in a variety of ways:

• Bake.
• Cook.
• Fried.
• Add to desserts, mousses, soufflé, ice cream.
• Ground dried nuts are used in baking.
• Use as a snack for wine, beer.
• Prepared with meat, vegetables, herbs, cereals.
• Chestnuts are added to soups, pilaf, they stuff the bird.
• A coffee drink is made from ground nuts, flour is made.

The most common cooking method is to bake chestnuts. How to do it right? It is necessary to cut off the tip of each fruit or slightly cut the chestnut. This is done so that it does not burst when heated. Then you need to lay the fruits in an even layer on a baking sheet and put in a hot oven. After 10-15 minutes, the edible roasted chestnuts are ready to eat. Do not dry the product: if all the moisture evaporates, the nuts will turn out to be too hard.

You can roast chestnuts directly on fire in a dry pan. The process lasts half an hour.

Peeling chestnuts is better when hot, after cooling, the peel becomes tougher.

Before serving, peeled roasted nuts can be seasoned with butter.

Recipes

Chefs of the most prestigious restaurants use ordinary edible chestnuts in cooking. Recipes can be very diverse. Despite the simplicity of preparation, the dishes are very delicious. Consider a few of them.

1. Chestnut Dessert. Canned chestnuts are mixed until mashed with brandy. Top pieces of meringue and whipped cream are added. Dessert is poured with hot chocolate.
2. Berishon. To prepare, you will need:

• 500 gr. pork belly;
• 500 gr. cabbage;
• 300gr chestnuts;
• 300 gr Luke;
• 100 gr. wine sauce.

Disassemble the boiled cabbage into separate leaves. Wrap a little pork breast in each leaf, put it out. Slightly let the onions in oil. Fry the chestnuts in a dry pan, clean. Arrange all the components separately on a large plate. Serve the sauce separately in the gravy boat.

3. Roasted chestnuts and Brussels sprouts.

We will need:

• 200 gr. chestnuts;
• 400 gr. Brussels sprouts;
• 20 gr. butter;
• several strips of bacon.

Fry the chestnuts in a dry pan, clean. Boil the cabbage a little in salted water. Fry the bacon with cabbage in oil. At the end, add chestnuts.

• Do not eat raw fruits of edible chestnut.

• Before frying or baking, the fruit must be cut or punctured to avoid an “explosion”. Before cooking, you can not do this.

• Nuts should be consumed immediately after cleaning. Purified for the future, they dry out and lose their taste.

• Do not overcook chestnuts. The product is getting too harsh.

• After purchase, store chestnuts in a dark, cool place.

• With excess body weight, it is not recommended to get involved in chestnuts, as they are too high in calories.

We learned about edible chestnut from French films.

At home, he is a favorite delicacy, but for us it remains an unprecedented curiosity, although now this overseas delicacy is available and on sale.

We will talk about the beneficial properties and dangers of fruits today.

This is a tall tree of the Beech family with unusual inflorescences in the form of a pyramid, as well as with edible fruits.

  A sectional fruit is a cream or yellowish nut.

The territory of its distribution is the south of Europe (Balkans, Greece, etc.), Asia and America, in the post-Soviet space - the Caucasus, the Black Sea coast.

Outwardly, this nut looks like horse chestnut, growing in our latitudes, but, unlike it, is not toxic, although both plants have medicinal properties.

Chemistry, calorie content and nutritional value of chestnut

The fetus contains: ascorbic and folic acids, B vitamins, retinol, riboflavin and niacin, and in addition, copper and iron, potassium and calcium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc and manganese.

Nut energy value  - 166 kcal fresh, 182 kcal fried per hundred grams of product.

Unlike other nuts, the fruit contains more carbohydrates and proteins than fats. It also has a lot of starch, fiber and sugars.

Spiders do not like this tree and do not weave cobwebs on its branches. Perhaps that is why most European castle buildings used chestnut wood.

Chestnut is often used for metabolic problems., walnut with its beneficial properties helps to normalize metabolism, stimulates the production of the necessary enzymes, and regulates the water-salt and acid-base balance. It regulates fat metabolism, which reduces the risks of liver disease.

  Edible chestnut has a beneficial effect on the thyroid gland, useful properties support the work of the endocrine system, normalize blood flow.

Moderate but regular eating of fruits is an effective prevention of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, thrombophlebitis, venous congestion and varicose veins.

The benefits of chestnuts for men

Horse chestnuts are most useful for men who have problems with the reproductive system. Most potency problems are related to poor circulation in the genitals. Fruit-based medications help solve this problem, as well as cure prostatitis.  Of particular value is that such a medicine does not harm other organs.

Chestnut trees have existed since the prehistoric period; they can live for more than half a century. Written evidence, dated 378 BC, about baking bread from chestnut flour by the ancient Romans, has been preserved.

The benefits of chestnuts for women

Toasted nuts, if consumed during critical days, women feel much better.

They are useful for menopause: improve the hormonal background of women during this period. In gynecology, fruit-based preparations are used for uterine bleeding and edema, and for stagnation of blood in the pelvic organs.

It is interesting how edible chestnuts are useful for women who prefer to walk in heels: how to prepare them for strained joints of the feet and not only - a detailed description below.

The use of chestnuts

Are chestnuts useful? Of course, their use is not limited only to cooking, the fruits are used in medicine (folk and traditional), in cosmetology. It is even procured for the future in order to have raw materials for preparing medicines or dishes.

In folk medicine

What is the health benefits of chestnut from a medical point of view? Traditional medicine uses tinctures, decoctions and ointments based on this nut.

To treat joints, prepare a tincture of fruits, make compresses, rubbing, in the absence of contraindications taken orally. To prepare, take 70 g of flowers, 10 g of chopped fruits and 0.5 l of vodka; insist a week. Inside, take 20 drops before meals. This tincture is useful for varicose veins, thrombophlebitis, arthrosis, rheumatism and osteochondrosis. It is advisable to clarify the dosage in consultation with a doctor.

A similar tincture, with the exception of the flowers in the composition, when taken orally helps with hypertension. For diseased joints, an ointment is also prepared from grated nuts, adding vegetable oil.

In pharmacology, horse chestnut is a part of drugs for various diseases (gynecology, urology, gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system, respiratory tract).

In cosmetology

Chestnut, due to its properties, benefits and finds application in the care of skin, nails and hair. Many cosmetics: tonics, scrubs, creams and milk have these fruits in their composition.

Walnut in cosmetology exhibits the following properties:

• stimulates the production of elastin and collagen;
• strengthens hair and nails;
• reduces pigmentation;
• relieves swelling and smooths scars and scars;
• normalizes the function of the thyroid gland, which positively affects the general condition of the skin and hair;
• helps relieve inflammation of the eye mucosa;
• slows down the aging of the body.

What is useful chestnut nut for skin? It is an effective antioxidant, in addition, products based on it regenerate and nourish, as well as moisturize the skin and cleanse the pores.

In cooking. How to make chestnuts

From the point of view of cooking, it is a multifaceted product: it is baked, boiled, fried, dried, ground into flour. Desserts (mousses, soufflés), salads are prepared from the fruits, added to second courses, to meat, seafood, and added to baked goods.

  What are the benefits of chestnuts for the body, and how to eat them? Vegetarians make up for the missing protein.

Since there is little fat in the product, it is valuable in terms of diets and rehabilitation measures after an illness or surgery, and also for weight loss.

The simplest dietary salad is made from these nuts., any fresh vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes) and herbs, seasoned with olive oil.

When frying or baking fruits, the skin covering them must be punctured, otherwise they will explode. That the fruits were not too rigid, it is important not to overexpose them.

Harmful properties and contraindications

The fetus has contraindications for pregnant women: do not eat them and use drugs based on them. Do not use the product during lactation, it will cause bloating in the baby.

It is forbidden to use the product and medications with it for the following diseases:

• urolithiasis disease;
• kidney dysfunction;
• hypotension;
• liver disease.

Frequent use in large quantities can lead to gastrointestinal problems: bloating, diarrhea.

How to fry chestnuts at home, see the video:

As soon as overseas fruits appeared in our stores and restaurants, many questions arose about how chestnuts are useful, what kind of fruit they are. It turns out that this is not only an interesting dish, but also a therapeutic and dietary product.

More recently, this fruit, which in some places replaced the locals with potatoes and corn, was completely alien to us. Today we are increasingly looking at chestnuts- not only on European trips, but also on the menu of restaurants, in shops and in their own kitchens.

What are chestnuts

In the courtyard of my childhood, as in many other old Moscow courtyards, luxurious chestnut grew. We can say an exemplary chestnut: in height it reached the sixth floor, regularly bloomed with elegant candles in May and dropped out of place the weighty shishaki in a sunny October. Solid greenish pebbles were used for a variety of children's games, but if someone had told us that they were fried, cooked and made out of them cakes with chocolate, we would laugh in his face. By the way, they would have done it right, because that chestnut was obviously horse- its leaves looked like curly star-shaped paws (they are oblong at a tree with edible fruits and are attached to the branch cuttings one by one).

Edible chestnuts do not grow in our latitudes. The closest place on the map is the Caucasus, Armenia and Azerbaijan, but even there they for some reason come out as small as walnuts, while in Europe they are about the size of a good tangerine. However, especially large ones are valued almost like truffles and are not even exported. You can meet them in southern France, in Spain and, of course, in Italy, where, of course, solid delicacies will be born.

The best ones are in Sicily, just the best ones are in the north of the country. In Piedmont, in Lombardy, on the streets you can see signs warning of the seasonal fall of nuts (chestnuts are nuts). During this very fall, passers-by, without any hesitation, pick up a crop, lay them out, satisfied, according to their cases and bags from Furla - you should, because you don’t have to pay three euros per kilo, like in a supermarket!

Extremely rare for Europe preserved in northern Italy wild chestnut forests, where in September-October, whole companies go with baskets. And mothers of families remember dozens of recipes for the preparation of this autumn gift of nature. You need to hurry: chestnuts are poorly stored - after a couple of days they begin to dry out and deteriorate. True, if you freeze them baked or boiled, then you can use the whole season, and the taste will not suffer.

However, where only chestnuts do not throw nature. One of the varieties is fragrant chestnuts tamba  - grows on the Japanese island of Honshu. In the Land of the Rising Sun, chestnuts are very respected - among the poetic Japanese people they are considered the same symbol of autumn, like blooming sakura - a symbol of spring. Fresh Tamba chestnuts are so sweet that they don’t even add sugar to them when they cook rice balls of karimoti, an amaguri beer snack or a filling for waffles sold at noisy crossroads of old cities.

How to eat chestnuts

We also gradually got acquainted with chestnuts. Sooner or later, each of us went to Europe for Christmas and was fascinated by its magic. Winter may have been warm and almost snowless - such that I wanted to walk and walk. In the old city around the cathedral, a festive market was noisy and offered all kinds of sparkling and singing treasures. Aromatic corrugations were baked everywhere, punch and mulled wine were poured, warming interest in life. And, of course, chestnut sellers who theatrically controlled in the dropping dusk with their antediluvian braziers were an integral part of this whole tale. Brown chestnuts bounced on the iron sheets, crackling, and glowed to a noble golden hue. Bursting balls were poured into a paper bag - then they opened easily, showering the skin, and pleasantly burned. The taste resembled hazelnuts and at the same time boiled sweet potatoes that are baked on the streets of Asian cities. But it happened in Paris, or Rome, or Strasbourg, Cologne, Vienna ...

In general, our memories of the day when we first tried chestnuts are not without sentimentality. However, dropping sentiment, you can to cook  exotic nuts procured in the ordinary market or in expensive gastrobutics, and in your own kitchen. The easiest recipe is fry  them in the same primitive way: make an incision (otherwise they will explode) on the flat side, put on a frying pan (not on a Teflon one, of course), cover it and listen to how they jump there, ready to burst and show the world a gentle crumbly inside. However, the most delicious chestnuts are not those that have already burst, but those that are about to burst, "on the verge" ... But to define this "just about" is already practically an art. Only professionals own it. For example, the Japanese, who roast their Tamba chestnuts in drums with hot river sand, without leaving the temperature controller unattended.

Chestnuts are delicious exceptionally hot, just from a roasting pan or frying pan. If you are aimed not at a fleeting connection (students' dinner: chestnuts and young wine), but at a serious relationship, this stage of roasting can be the beginning of what is called a wonderful friendship. Using a spoon, carefully remove the warm flesh from the cracked skin and cook in one of dozens of ways.

How to cook chestnuts

Say chestnuts can be served as garnish for roast  - instead of the usual potatoes. Or add to pilaf. Or, as in the Caucasus, pour them with a lot of onions into the dishes, where meat is being prepared, and leave it for ten to fifteen minutes: chestnuts will have a completely different flavor. And they will need to be served separately, generously sprinkled with pomegranate seeds.

A dinner near Moscow is good combination with applesand: first, pour water, bring the chestnuts to a pleasant softness, then drain the water, add chopped apples and butter and simmer until the fruit is soft. Piquancy will bring prunes and nuts to the dish.

Chestnuts are baked, fried, boiled, they also stuff the bird: in America - for Thanksgiving, in Europe - for Christmas. We are not bound by centuries-old traditions and can start a rooster or turkey right now. By the way, a capon stuffed with chestnuts and Armagnac in gastronomic boutiques is sold for incredible amounts.

Chestnut is generally a favorite of masters of haute cuisine. And those who like to make unusual flavor combinations. By the way, in such combinations, it is perfect as a souvenir: I’ve just been brought jam from Paris, called "chestnuts and Chinese smoked tea." It’s almost savory, you don’t eat it with cookies or pancakes - it's just an artifact.

Friends interested in gastronomy will appreciate the beauty of the game if you cook for them chestnut soup. It does not require special knowledge or efforts: to a meat broth seasoned with onions, garlic, celery and parsley, after chestnuts you need to add a spoonful of butter, a glass of cream and a little alcohol like brandy.

When there is no time to mess with roasting and peeling nuts, you can use canned chestnut puree. It forms the basis for dozens of interesting and easy-to-perform dishes. Mostly, of course, sweet. The simplest cake that you don’t even need to bake: stir a couple of glasses of mashed potatoes with 175 grams of butter, 300 grams of dark chocolate and a few tablespoons of rum thoroughly, put into a mold and stand overnight in the refrigerator. Or just whip the mashed potatoes with cream.

Of chestnut flour  aromatic cookies  (um, with pine nuts and raisins), but probably most of us, especially children, like whole chestnuts: bite nut as big as an egg, besides with such an unusual taste - who doesn't like it? Manufacturers Indulge Our Weakness First marron glaces  - glazed chestnuts, which can be found in any French, Spanish or Italian supermarket.

Chestnuts, aged in sugar syrup and hidden in a shell made of thick chocolate or white glaze, are easy to make on their own. Even easier - "Drunk" chestnuts: Pour a hundred grams of sugar into a glass of red wine, put boiled chestnuts and simmer for a while over medium heat until a syrup forms. Then, while still hot, lay whipped cream on the feather bed, sprinkle with vanilla and garnish with mint and candied fruit.

Edible chestnuts come on sale in three types: fresh, unpeeled, fresh-frozen, peeled and pickled. The latter is a ready-made product, without additional processing they can be added to the salad, for example, in combination with orange or with smoked duck breast fillet. Freshly frozen chestnuts must first be fried and then used, say, in a soup with porcini mushrooms. And fresh unpeeled nuts need to be cut, covered with foil and baked in the oven for about 20 minutes, then salt and eat just like eating seeds or corn.
  Another unusual “chestnut” product, directly to nuts, though not related, is honey. It is pleasantly liquid (it does not crystallize until spring, or maybe longer, it just didn’t stay longer with us), dark brown - it’s chestnut! - colors with a light aroma and amazing bitter taste. It is useful for kidney and stomach diseases, it kills microbes. There is absolutely no chestnut honey - it would be too bitter, bees collect pollen from other plants. And the more distinctly the bitterness is felt in honey, the more chestnut itself is in it.