You might think that autumn is all about pumpkin. And yes: pumpkin soup, pumpkin risotto and pumpkin cheesecake are extremely delicious. But we don’t think the sweet chestnut should be neglected. Therefore, in this article you will find a few facts and also what you should bear in mind if you want to collect chestnuts yourself.
Amazingly nutrituous
As their name suggests, chestnuts belong to the group of nuts. But did you know that they are relatively low in fat? They also contain a lot of vitamin C and B, potassium and magnesium as well as fibre.
In Switzerland you can find chestnuts in many places. You can discover real forests and plantations as well as other interesting facts about chestnuts in this SRF report (German only).
Tips for collecting sweet chestnuts
You’d like to collect sweet chestnuts yourself? You can – depending on the canton. So make sure you find out beforehand whether you are allowed to collect chestnuts and what the rules are.
When you collect them, you should pay attention to the following:
- Fresh chestnuts are firm, heavy and have a smooth and shiny skin.
- Inside their skin, they will keep for 1 week at room temperature, 1 month in an airtight container in the fridge and 6 months in the freezer.
- Deworm your chestnuts before processing: place in cold water for 1 night. Good chestnuts sink, the others float up.
- To prepare your chestnuts, you should cut them on one side. By doing this, you can easily boil them or roast them in the oven.
You can use your chestnuts to make a delicious chestnut cake. In combination with mushrooms you can also create a delicious ragout with them. Moreover, chestnuts also go very well with opulent red wine.
The poisonous horse chestnut
Caution: there is a very similar species of chestnut, but it is poisonous: the horse chestnut. It differs from sweet chestnuts in the following characteristics:
- few strong, painful thorns
- round fruits (sweet chestnuts are flattened and have a hairy tip)
- the light-coloured spot near the partition
- five- to seven-limbed leaves (leaves of sweet chestnuts are oval and elongated with small serrations on the edge)
At Farmy you’ll find everything you need for the autumn season. Take a look!
What do you think?