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Home > Blogs > Farm Life and Local Harvest > Archives > 2011 > December > 20 > Entry
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
We are all familiar with the popular “Christmas Song” and its familiar verse of “chestnuts roasting on an open fire”, but have you actually ever tried a chestnut?
Chestnuts are popular around the holidays and have become one of our Christmas traditions. However, chestnuts were not always a staple at Christmas time. Early Native Americans harvested chestnuts as a part of their diet. Not only was the nut eaten, but they were also processed into meal for baking. Chestnuts contain almost twice the amount of starch that potatoes do and are also high in Vitamin C. It is natural that they would be a good addition to any diet.
The chestnut tree faced a major setback as the chestnut blight moved through the country in the early part of the twentieth century. Overall, a total of four billion trees were lost to this disease. However, chestnuts are making a slow comeback in different areas around the country. For roasting chestnuts, most nuts today are imported from Italy. The large sweet Italian chestnut is quite popular and is sold in most grocery stores around the holiday season.
To roast some chestnuts at home it is quite simple. Take a pound to a half pound of chestnuts and score the tops with a knife to form an “X” on the shell. Next, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the chestnuts in a pan in the oven and simply watch them. Periodically shake the pan to ensure that they cook evenly. After 15-20 minutes, the shell will start to pop open and peel back. Remove from the oven and enjoy. Chestnuts can also be done on a grill using the same technique. However, make sure to turn them often.
