Surely in every city there are alleys decorated with chestnut trees. Few people know, chestnut is a nut, useful properties, which are widely used in many fields of medicine, cosmetology, cooking. For culinary purposes, only noble varieties of chestnut are used, and wild (horse) is used to create medicinal preparations.

Useful properties of a noble fruit

Chestnuts have long been used as food; their benefits and harms for the body are very great. Distinguishing a noble from a wild species is quite simple. In noble fruits, the box is covered with a dense layer of needles. Inside each box are a few nuts with a pointed tip.

Noble varieties are used in cooking for the preparation of various dishes, flour. But not only roasted chestnut is popular, useful properties are observed even in raw fruits, which taste very similar to potatoes. Each of the fruits contains many vitamins of groups A, B, C, fats, sugar, starch. Chestnuts have a short shelf life. It is best to eat nuts in the fall when they begin to ripen.

What is useful edible chestnut:

• used in the treatment of atherosclerosis;
• strengthens blood vessels, improves blood circulation;
• effective for thrombophlebitis, ulcers, inflammation of hemorrhoids;
• eating raw fruits can cure malaria, constipation, diarrhea;
• if roasted, they can stop the bleeding.

The benefits of wild chestnut

  Wild chestnut, although it cannot be consumed due to its toxicity and bitter taste, it also has its beneficial properties. The horse-chestnut got its name back in the 16th century, when the health-improving property of walnut on horses was first noticed. A few years later, the nut began to be used for the manufacture of medicines, tinctures, decoctions. Thanks to the useful substances eculin, escin, the fruits of chestnut have been used in some areas of medicine for:

• adjusting blood coagulation;
• cleavage of blood clots;
• removal of inflammatory processes, edema.

Horse chestnut is one of the main components for the manufacture of ointments, tablets, injections, drops used in the treatment of varicose veins, diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Almost every part of the chestnut (inflorescence, bark, nut) is used in the treatment of:

• inflammation, pulmonary edema;
• bronchitis;
• anemia;
• stop bleeding;
• gall bladder diseases;
• inflammatory processes of internal organs;

The use of chestnuts in traditional medicine

  The health benefits of chestnuts are very great, therefore, in folk medicine it has been used for many years.

Phlebeurysm

Structure

• 50 g of flowers;
• 0.5 l of vodka.

Cooking

1. Place chestnut flowers in a glass jar;
2. Pour vodka.
3. Insist 2 weeks, occasionally shaking.
4. Strain the infusion.
5. Consume 30 drops 3 times a day half an hour before meals.
6. The course of treatment is 1 month.

Thrombophlebitis

Structure

• 100 g of vodka;
• 10 g chopped chestnuts.

Cooking

1. Pour the chestnut flour with vodka.
2. Remove to a dark place for 10 days.
3. Strain the infusion.
4. Use infused with water infusion of 30 drops per 60 ml of water before each meal.

Joint pain

Structure

• 50 g of chopped fruits;
• 0.5 l of vodka.

Cooking

1. Mix chestnut with vodka.
2. Insist 3 weeks.
3. Consume 3 times a day, 20 ml before meals.
4. Rub into sore joints.
5. The course of treatment is 1 month.

Gastritis

Structure

• 0.5 tbsp. l crushed chestnut bark;
• 400 g of water.

Cooking

1. Put water and bark into the pan.
2. Set 8 hours.
3. Boil it.
4. Strain.
5. Use during the day for 4 doses before meals.

Chestnut oil

Structure

• 15 g of chopped fruits;
• 150 g of olive oil (vegetable).

Cooking

1. Mix the oil with chestnut powder.
2. Insist 14 days.
3. Strain in a water bath for 3 hours.
4. Use 3 times a day, 10 ml diluted in 100 ml of warm water.
5. Lubricate diseased areas of the body.

Chestnuts contraindications

  Chestnut fruits have medicinal properties and applications have been widely used, but they have a number of contraindications.

Although chestnut nut is in demand, the use is not recommended for:

• hypertension
• menstrual irregularities;
• pregnancy
• diabetes mellitus;
• internal bleeding.

Fruits, inflorescences, leaves, chestnut bark are not recommended to be collected near roads, in areas with poor ecology (plants, landfills), in the city center. Chestnut, like all representatives of the flora, absorbs harmful substances from the environment, soil.

Eating nuts can cause serious damage to the body, because chestnut nuts benefit and harm are on a fine line. First of all, a nut will be harmful for overweight people. Chestnuts calorie content is very high, therefore, to lose weight, you need to use their fruits carefully. They contain a large amount of starch, carbohydrates, so the product contributes to obesity and seriously stresses the cardiovascular system.

Chestnut has found medicinal properties and applications in many areas of medicine. Walnut can thin the blood, so it can be dangerous for diabetes and internal bleeding. With such ailments, chestnut should be consumed only after consultation and the permission of the attending physician.

The nut causes serious harm to the body when abused or misused. Misuse is when horse (wild) chestnut is used for cooking. Due to the high concentration of tannins, horse chestnut can be the cause of serious poisoning.

Chestnut nuts than everyone should know what is useful, because this product is an excellent medicine and the prevention of many serious diseases. Before starting treatment, it is recommended to consult a doctor, because chestnut has a number of contraindications, which must be taken into account.

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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. Tamba's fresh 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 side dish 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 should 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.

A plant such as horse chestnut is familiar to absolutely everyone. It has been used for a long time in traditional medicine in the treatment of a variety of diseases due to its amazing healing properties. But at the same time, official modern medicine has recently begun to think so.

In which cases the medicinal properties of chestnut are effective

The use of chestnut is, first of all, present in the manufacture of special therapeutic ointments and creams, the purpose of which is aimed at treating hemorrhoids, as well as expanding veins. However, all the characteristics and useful properties of chestnut fruits are manifested not only in external use, but also in the process of ingestion.

As a rule, the use of horse chestnut is quite effective in the treatment of diseases such as bile formation, indigestion, gout, varicose veins, thrombophlebitis, ulcers, sciatica and radiculitis. Also, very often the extract of this plant is added to the water when taking a bath when muscle pain is present and neuralgia occurs.

In addition, the substances present in chestnuts can significantly reduce the process of blood coagulation. They significantly strengthen the capillary wall and relieve vasospasm.

Healing substances that are part of the plant

Chestnut, the beneficial properties of which are known to many, is also unique in that it is often used in food (edible fruits). The beneficial substances present in them are used so that the treatment proceeds with great pleasure and taste.

For example, one hundred grams of such an amazing product contains three and a half grams of protein, two - fats and forty-two - carbohydrates. Due to the fact that the composition of chestnuts contains a relatively small amount of fat and an increased number of proteins, this plant is one of the most common and favorite dishes of vegetarian cuisine. But at the same time, because of their high calorie content, chestnuts are not at all recommended for people who are overweight.

Vitamin Chestnut Complex

Chestnut, whose useful properties are very diverse, has a large number of different substances. These substances include oils, starch, pectins and tannins, the therapeutic effect of which is explained by the presence of the so-called escin.

Indeed, the entire full range of vitamins and various minerals that are contained in this unique and amazing product, fully contributes to a significant strengthening of human immunity. And directly the level of their quality and effectiveness depends on the degree of fruit maturity (more mature chestnuts contain a greater number of useful minerals).

Healing parts of chestnuts and their use in folk medicine

Such a variety as horse chestnut is not at all edible, but this plant has tremendous useful and healing properties. In the process of manufacturing various special medicines, the bark, fruits, leaves and flowers of this unique culture are actively used. However, the beneficial properties of edible chestnut are very effective.

Moreover, such chestnuts can have their own truly healing effect even in an incompletely processed form. Moreover, if you follow traditional medicine, it is recommended to put the fruits of this tree in your pockets for diseases such as radiculitis, uterine bleeding and malignant neoplasms.

As for the leaves of chestnuts, they are very rich in glycosides and pectins, as well as in vitamin K. In addition, there is a sufficient amount of tannins, it is because of this fact that they are often recommended by doctors as useful food additives.

A special extract is also extracted from the fruits of chestnuts, accelerating blood flow and contributing to the rapid expansion of arteries. In addition, they allow the vessels to have significant elasticity, while making them even harder and stronger, and chestnuts also contribute to the narrowing of the dilated veins due to varicose veins.

Healing chestnut decoctions

It is recommended to dry the leaves with the fruits of the chestnut, and then cook a special decoction from them, which is used to treat pharyngitis, laryngitis and tracheitis. The beneficial properties of edible chestnut are also effective in that decoctions can also be prepared from the fresh leaves of this plant. This liquid helps to relieve quite severe coughing attacks during whooping cough.

The bark, along with the chestnuts themselves, is a very good remedy that helps reduce kidney swelling. In addition, this combination is used to stop nosebleeds. As for the decoctions of the fruits and bark of chestnuts, they also have a very beneficial effect on the digestion of the body. At the same time, their external use helps perfectly if there are boils and abscesses.

The fruit bark is boiled and used by women during douching, when there is leucorrhoea, and the extract and useful properties of horse chestnut can also remove the inflammatory process of the prostate glands in men. Alcohol infusions of finely chopped horse chestnut fruits are applied externally to lubricate joints with gout.

Decoctions from the bark of the chestnut tree are usually taken for diseases of the gallbladder, anemia, liver diseases, spleen and edema, as well as when pulmonary tuberculosis and bronchitis are present in the body. This allows you to significantly improve digestion and relieve inflammatory processes. Also, such a decoction can serve as an excellent assistant in stopping uterine bleeding.

What are the effectiveness of chestnut flowers (beneficial properties)

Alcohol tinctures made from horse chestnut flowers are also considered very useful. They are recommended to be used when there is dysentery and catarrh of the bladder. The beneficial properties of horse chestnut and infusions from its bark, flowers and seeds are characterized by excellent antipyretic effects and have astringent effects. That is why they are most often used for diseases such as rheumatism, cholecystitis, varicose veins, and also in order to normalize the level of digestion.

Unique healing honey from chestnuts

In addition, honey from chestnut is obtained, the beneficial properties of which are provoked by rather bright antimicrobial substances and have a healing effect on the activity of the cardiovascular system, as well as normalize the functioning of the digestive organs.

In addition, with the help of chestnut honey, the body's immunity is activated. Due to this fact, he enjoys wildly popular in European countries.

For quite some time, fresh juice of this plant has been used in folk medicine. The beneficial properties of chestnut are effective if there is swelling of the hemorrhoid cones and expansion of the veins on the legs. Therefore, treatment with this plant is very important in our time. And the beneficial properties of chestnut flowers have a truly healing effect on the whole body.

Cautions and contraindications for treatment with chestnuts

Despite the fact that chestnuts have numerous healing and medicinal properties, there are some contraindications to their use. This includes gastritis, irregular menstruation and delayed menstruation, relatively reduced blood coagulation. Also, if an overdose of chestnut preparations occurs, numbness and some tingling in the fingers appear.

Various drugs, which include horse chestnut, can not be taken by patients with low blood viscosity, severe kidney and liver diseases, as well as hypotension, and during pregnancy.

Cooking Chestnuts

One of the most common dishes, the main ingredient of which is chestnut, is its fried fruits. They are able to preserve their truly useful properties even in this specific form.

In order to cook this dish, you should make cuts the size of one centimeter on one side of the chestnut, and then put these nuts gently on a baking sheet and bake for thirty minutes, observing a temperature of two hundred and forty degrees. The fruits need to be incised so that they cannot explode in the oven. You can season the finished dish with sugar or salt to taste.

But the most popular way to cook these specific fruits is to bake chestnuts directly over an open fire. For example, in some European countries there is a certain tradition of gathering for a picnic in the fall, during which people throw chestnuts directly into the fire. Eating such a dish needs to be hot, while the fruits should be peeled and washed down with fermented grape juice. Then all the beneficial properties of the chestnut will be preserved.

What is a chestnut plant

Horse chestnut is also called esculus. The beneficial properties of chestnut are known throughout the world. In appearance, it is a deciduous tree that belongs to the sapinda family. As a rule, it reaches a height of up to thirty meters, and the circumference of its trunk can reach up to one meter. Horse chestnut flowers are bell-shaped inflorescences of white color with red spots.

The fruits of such trees are round meaty bolls with green spikes present and wide-open sashes, and in the middle there is one large nut.

In appearance, these trees are very beautiful. First of all, these plants are grown for decorative purposes, because they look quite solemn both during flowering in the springtime and in autumn with fan-like leaves that acquire a very bright yellow-red color.

But at the same time horse chestnut became famous not only for its beauty, but also for its really useful qualities, since alcohol, starch, oil are extracted from its fruits, and its inflorescences, bark and fruits are used in the manufacture of medicines. This is the many beneficial properties of chestnut.

Chestnuts are not as popular with us as they are in Western Europe, Japan, or East Asian countries, however, it is high time to correct this omission. Healing and nutritious nuts grow in the subtropical zone; therefore, they are not included in the menu of our traditional cuisine. But avocados, and “New Year's fruit” - tangerines, and many other products that often appear on our table are also imported from the southern latitudes.

We think, having learned how chestnuts are useful, our housewives will certainly begin to prepare them for their home. Moreover, the fruits do not require special culinary skills and are delicious just fried or baked.

Nuts that are suitable for eating do not grow in our country and can only be purchased at supermarkets.

Nutritional Information of Chestnuts

Despite the outward resemblance to hazelnuts, the product resembles little of its composition. Chestnuts contain:

• about 60% starch
• 15% sugar
• 6% protein
• 2% fat

The percentage may vary, depending on the variety of fruits. Nevertheless, in its effect on the human body, chestnuts are more reminiscent of rice and potatoes than nuts, in which the proportion of proteins and fats is high.

A carbohydrate-rich product is recommended for athletes and people in need of enhanced nutrition to restore energy. After hearty chestnuts, you don’t feel hungry for a long time, therefore they are often included in weight loss diets, with one caveat: in small quantities.

Vegetarians also appreciate the product as an additional source of vegetable protein.

Also in chestnuts contains:

• cellulose
• tannins
• vitamins A, C, K and group B
• trace elements: potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, silicon, selenium, copper, zinc
• folic acid
• pectins
• glycosides

The fact that chestnuts are an important ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, recognized as one of the most wholesome in the world, says a lot. With the regular use of fruits, the metabolism improves, the intestines begin to function more actively, toxins are more quickly eliminated and enzymes necessary for digestion are produced.

Immunity is strengthened, malfunctions in the cardiovascular system are eliminated, blood composition is normalized and the general tone of the body increases. Italians, French and other residents of southern Europe knowingly love chestnuts, because they can protect us from stress and improve our mood during the period of seasonal autumn depression. Despite the high content of carbohydrates and sugars, the fruits can and should be eaten by people who are struggling with excess weight, since in this case fat deposits do not form and the load on the liver is reduced.

History reference

The first seedlings of the chestnut sowing (or noble) was brought from Asian campaigns by Alexander the Great. He noted that by consuming the fruits of this tree, warriors become more alert and suffer less from stomach problems caused by unusual food.

Magic nuts of youth and beauty

Chestnuts are able to turn back the clock and bring us back the charm of youth. They contribute to the production of elastin and collagen - proteins involved in the renewal of cells and tissues.

The trace elements that make up the healing nuts have beneficial effects on the skin, hair and nails, improving their condition and appearance. And zinc and phosphorus, in addition, strengthen teeth and gums.

The cure for many diseases

In the pharmaceutical industry, horse chestnuts, which are usual for us, are used more often, decorating the streets with fragrant "candles" of inflorescences in the spring, and in the autumn they are thrown with fruits in a spiny shell that are so well suited for crafts.

However, Castánea satíva nuts have healing properties. They are shown with:

1. dysentery;
2. hemorrhoids;
3. cystitis;
4. painful menstruation and menopause;
5. mastopathy;
6. edema of different origin;
7. circulatory disorders and thrombosis, since they thin the blood;
8. spasms of blood vessels;
9. atherosclerosis;
10. neuralgia;
11. respiratory diseases;
12. rheumatism.

Externally chopped edible chestnut pulp can be used as a hemostatic, wound healing and disinfectant. Effectively help fruits and burns, accelerating the process of tissue regeneration.

Calorie content

As can be seen from this table, boiled or baked fruits will bring the greatest benefit, but fried and pickled fruits need to be eaten a little (no more than 40 g at a time).

If you follow a diet, it is better to use chestnuts in the first half of the day, then the energy with which they charge the body will be completely consumed. But for dinner you can allow yourself only 2-3 nuts.

Who should not eat chestnuts

A carbohydrate-rich product, for all its usefulness, is a junk food. Therefore, it is undesirable to give it to children older than five to six years of age. The fragile body of babies is unlikely to be able to fully digest chestnuts, which threatens indigestion, flatulence and colic.

It is better to boil healthy nuts in the children's diet in boiled form, making soup puree. If the product caused discomfort in the child, it is advisable to postpone the “acquaintance” with it for some more time and consult a doctor.

Nursing mothers will also have to give up chestnuts so as not to cause excessive gas formation or an allergic reaction in the baby.


  Fruits are contraindicated in the following diseases:

• diabetes
• kidney stones and bladder
• hypotension
• hepatic and renal failure
• inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract

Attention!

Healthy people need to eat chestnuts, but in moderation, so as not to gain excess weight and not provoke the pancreas.

Raw nuts are recognized as the most difficult for digestion.  They can only be consumed in a ripe form, then we will improve our health and treat ourselves to a delicious product without side effects.

How to choose chestnuts

We found that nuts that have reached full maturity are most beneficial. But how to choose just such fruits in the store or in the market?

1. You need to buy fresh chestnuts in season - from September to February. Nuts deteriorate quickly, so it is not possible to feast on them the rest of the year. If you could not buy fresh fruits, you should pay attention to frozen or pickled fruits - they are, moreover, easier to prepare, because they do not need to be peeled.
2. The nutshell must be hard, smooth, without stains and damage, with a uniform, dark color and glossy shine.
3. Ripe, high-quality chestnuts - heavy and large, about the same size.
4. Round-shaped nuts are tastier than their more flattened "congeners."
5. The freshness of the fruit is determined by clicking on them with a finger. If the shell is soft, the shelf life has clearly been prolonged.

Attention!

The greenish layer between the kernel and the walnut shell is an indicator of insufficient ripeness. Such chestnuts are better to boil, stew or fry, but do not eat raw.

Storage rules

Fresh chestnuts are a capricious and perishable product. At room temperature in a dry, preferably dark place, they can lie for no more than 5 days, after which they dry out and wrinkle.


  If you put the fruits in the refrigerator, with other vegetables and fruits, they will "last" 2 weeks, provided that they are wrapped in a plastic bag with holes for ventilation. Otherwise, nuts will quickly mold.

If you want to eat fresh or roasted chestnuts out of season, it is better to freeze them. The product will not lose its qualities within six months.

Attention!

During freezing, fresh chestnuts should be placed in a vacuum container or wrapped with foil, but in no case should you use a plastic bag, otherwise they will deteriorate. This warning does not apply to fried fruits.

Another option: storing raw, unpeeled nuts in sand poured into wooden crates or barrels. Tanks are installed in the cellar and kept at a temperature of 2 - 5ºС until spring.

Instead of sand, you can take dry chestnut leaves.

Chestnuts belong to those products, once you try which, you no longer want to give them up.  Yes, and why limit yourself to such a healthy treat?

Well, buy and start cooking.

Useful video

A small reference material about chestnuts:

Chestnut trees stand out against the background of others with a lush, spreading crown, the picturesqueness of which is emphasized by hundreds of carved leaves. The fruits of some varieties of the tree are used for food or become a source of valuable substances for health. Nevertheless, the benefits and harms of chestnuts depend not only on their species, but also on how much of the plants will be used for medicinal purposes.

Useful and healing properties of horse chestnut

The most famous and demanded on the European continent are two types of chestnut - horse and sowing (noble).

Horse chestnut grows almost throughout Russia and is well known to most of its inhabitants. In spring, horse chestnut is covered with numerous flowers - delicate pink and white inflorescences in the form of candles. And in autumn, the soil under the tree is covered with its fruits - round, shiny brown. And although they are inedible, they have great healing power.

Noble chestnut loves a mild subtropical climate, therefore it is found in the southern latitudes. An adult sowing chestnut tree looks no less picturesque than a horse crown. And most importantly, its fruits - nuts are edible and differ in pronounced pleasant taste.

However, according to its healing properties, seed chestnut is inferior to horse chestnut.

Chemical composition

The official medicine recognized the healing properties of all parts of horse chestnut - flowers, fruits, leaves and even bark, and are used for the manufacture of medicines.

The particular value of the plant lies in its composition:

• in fruits and cortex: phylloquinone, sugars, fatty oils, as well as active compounds of the glycoside group of saponins (10%) - esculin and escin, which reduce blood viscosity, have an antithrombic effect, and reduce capillary permeability;
• in fruits: flavonoids of the glycoside group - quercetrin, isocvercitrin, quercetin and kempferol, fraksin, fatty oils, starch, proteins;
• in fruits: B, C vitamins, trace elements - iron, potassium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, tannins;
• in the leaves - vitamin K, carotenoids, pectins, as well as rutin, selenium, spireoside, astragaline, starch. It is characteristic that the biochemical composition of the leaves does not change during the warm season;
• in the flowers - rutin, flavonoids, mucus, pectins.

The healing potential of the substances that make up horse chestnut determine its pharmacological properties. Their use is not only appropriate, but also necessary in the treatment of most pathologies of the circulatory system.

Benefits for men and women

When using the healing properties of chestnut in the preparation of medicines and drugs, you can get rid of many diseases against which traditional medicines are powerless.

The healing properties of the plant are due to the action of biologically active substances:

• tannins have a disinfecting effect, relieve inflammation and stimulate blood circulation;
• saponins regulate the water-salt balance, promote the synthesis of hormones, prevent the development of atherosclerosis of blood vessels and strengthen the venous walls;
• rutin increases the elasticity of blood vessels, normalizes blood pressure, takes part in the work of the adrenal glands, increases the functionality of the gallbladder;
• carotenoids support the functionality of the cardiovascular system, normalize cholesterol;
• flavonoids increase the strength of the vascular walls, have a choleretic effect.

Due to the rich composition of fruits and bark, chestnut is indispensable in restoring men's health.  Tinctures based on the plant are taken for prostate adenoma, decoctions from the crushed peel of the fruit help to reduce potency and sexual desire, and baths with the addition of chestnut decoction reduce inflammatory processes.

Women use horse chestnut products for:

• getting rid of cellulite;
• digestion improvement;
• elimination of puffiness;
• treatment of gynecological diseases caused by stagnation of blood in the pelvis;
• therapeutic effects in mastitis;
• the fight against varicose veins and thrombophlebitis;
• relief of uterine bleeding;
• cleansing the body of toxins.

The use of chestnut fruits is indicated for hemorrhoids, metabolic disorders in the body, arthritis, heart disease, bronchitis, rheumatism and radiculitis.

Since horse chestnut is considered inedible, taking medications based on it should be strictly dosed.

How to distinguish edible chestnut from inedible

To determine the suitability of chestnut for food, you should pay attention to the main differences between the sowing and horse species of the plant.

Sowing chestnut:

• leaves - oblong, lanceolate, serrated at the edges;
• spike inflorescences appear in June-July;
• the fruits are covered with leathery pericarp. One box contains three to four nuts. Ripen in October.

While horse chestnut leaves are large, consist of several segments. Inflorescences have a pyramidal shape and bloom in May. In the pericarp covered with thorns, as a rule, one nut.

In addition, edible chestnuts are characterized by a sweet taste, while horse chestnut tastes bitter and astringent.

The use of chestnuts in traditional medicine

In folk medicine, bark, fruits, leaves and inflorescences of horse chestnut are used. Based on them, decoctions, tinctures and infusions, as well as ointments and powder are prepared.

Preparation and use of tincture.

For internal use. The brown peel is removed from ripened chestnut fruits and ground. For 50 g of raw materials take half a liter of vodka and insist for two weeks in a dark place.

In the same way, prepare a tincture of chestnut inflorescences. To do this, you need 20 flowers and 500 ml of vodka.

Internally, tincture is taken for varicose veins, exacerbation of hemorrhoids, prostatitis and prostate adenoma.

Dosage - 10-30 drops three times a day before meals for a month.

For external use. Take 300 g of horse chestnut fruit, grind them in a meat grinder and pour vodka to a liter volume. Stand in the dark for two weeks.

Use:

• in the form of compresses for pain in joints, rheumatism, neuralgia, gout, purulent wounds, trophic ulcers, varicose veins and phlebitis;
• for douching with whitewash;
• for baths and enemas for hemorrhoids.

Horse chestnut tincture is often used as a painkiller - put a little money on a sore spot and rub it with light movements.

Preparation and use of decoctions, infusions and ointments

To prepare a decoction, you can use any part of the plant. For one tablespoon of raw materials, take a glass of water, bring to a boil and stand for an hour.

Take a decoction three times a day for a tablespoon for gastritis, hemorrhoids, chronic bronchitis, radiation sickness, fibrotic mastopathy, migraine, varicose veins, prostatitis, multiple sclerosis, pneumonia.

To prepare the infusion, you need 25 horse chestnut fruits, cut into halves. The prepared raw materials are placed in a gauze bag, the cargo is attached, lowered to the bottom of a three-liter jar and poured with boiled water.

The infusion period is two weeks. It is important that the bag with the cut fruit is always at the bottom of the can. The recommended daily dose for internal use is two glasses.

Accepted for pulmonary tuberculosis, high blood pressure, thromboembolism, gastritis, anemia.

For external use, the decoction is used as a painkiller, anti-inflammatory, venotonic and antithrombotic agent, added to water for bathtubs and baths, as well as for performing enemas and compresses.

To prepare the ointment, five horse chestnut fruits are ground, five tablespoons of vegetable oil are added and heated in a water bath for one hour. Applied as necessary to eliminate edema and pain with exacerbations of varicose veins and arthritis.

Use in cosmetology

The healing power of the components in the composition of the chestnut brings many benefits when applied for cosmetic purposes.

Horse chestnut extracts:

• eliminate puffiness of the skin;
• remove cellulite deposits;
• tone, soften and nourish dry skin;
• support antioxidant processes, preventing aging;
• protect from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation;
• stimulate collagen production, reducing wrinkles;
• prevent hair loss;
• contribute to the growth of hairline;
• prevent dandruff.

Therefore, horse chestnut extracts are widely used in the manufacture of creams, masks, shampoos, balms, lotions and serums.

How to Make Edible Chestnuts Deliciously

The true taste of edible chestnuts is revealed only if they are cooked correctly.

Culinary processing of fruits provides for the following sequence:

• wash the chestnuts and peel off the outer shell. If this is not done, the shell may explode during frying;
• prepared chestnuts are laid out in a pan and covered with wet wipes to prevent drying out. Teflon-coated cookware is not recommended;
• the total time for frying chestnuts is twenty minutes. In the process of preparation, the fruits must be constantly mixed and monitored to maintain the humidity of the napkins.

Noble chestnuts are considered finished if the cover covering them easily moves away from the surface of the fruit.

Eating horse chestnut nuts is strictly forbidden - a huge amount of tannic compounds contained in them can cause intoxication of the body.

Contraindications and possible harm

Despite the great healing potential, horse chestnut is indicated for use not by all groups of patients.

Therefore, before using plant-based products, it is necessary to take into account contraindications to its administration:

• pathology of the digestive tract;
• tendency to allergies;
• hypotension;
• menstrual irregularities;
• platelet deficiency in the blood;
• diabetes;
• kidney and liver failure;
• blood pathology;
• pregnancy and lactation.

Excessive amounts of edible chestnut in the diet lead to chronic constipation and flatulence. While eating under-cooked fruits can cause diarrhea.

A good therapeutic result is always the result of a reasonable approach to the use of medicines under the supervision of a competent specialist.