Sweet Chestnuts! Yum!

Queenriderbrekke

If you have any woods with Sweet Chestnut trees where you are allowed, it's time to go Chestnuting!!!!

I just picked loads off the floor from three Sweet Chestnut trees near my local post office cos it's windy today:D

Take the kids early in the morning, I'm 49 and still remember my dad taking me Chesnuting early on a Sunday morning:D

But make sure you wear gloves they have prickles, lol!:D

CHIMPER_2

Hi!! ive been desperate to find free chestnuts... never tried them and have seen Jamie Oliver cook with them, they look yummy but are only really around in shops near christmas and are quite expensive!!
How can you tell them apart from conkers???..they look almost identical, i read if you eat conkers by mistake they can make you really ill.

Any info on where to find them and how to tell them apart from conkers would be greatly appreciated.

( i hope im doing this right, have only ever left one message before and couldnt remember when i did it or where it ended up!! )

Snow_Bunny

I want to find them too. Read lots of info but cannot see them anywhere. Where are those chestnut woods- I haven't got an inkling.

kurgon

One of the best thoings to do with them is to make a soup...1 litre of veg stock, 1 carrot, 1 onion , 1 stick of celery and about 250g chestnuts...then a little pepper. Boil for 45 minutes. You need to have opecooked the chestnuts but this can easily be done in the microwave. When finished just blend.
Yum.:beer:

fluffygrue

Ooh, lucky you. Just remember that horse chestnuts are fairly poisonous, so stick to the sweet ones.

Queenriderbrekke

Sweet chestnuts have a pointed end as shown in this image: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/sweet%2520chestnuts2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/italian-sweet-chestnut-liqueur-recipe-119&usg=__FdGNKtaZD0wvtOBYR4oLS2cCdcs=&h=248&w=250&sz=18&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=kz1misyNPboFgM:&tbnh=110&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSWEET%2BCHESTNUTS%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Horse Chestnuts (NOT TO BE EATEN) are round as in this image: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Aesculus_hippocastanum_fruit.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.localeating.ca/category/general-info/&usg=__9XoKdH5Y7aCPKoL6_ec8fpqXDuk=&h=768&w=1024&sz=401&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=wk8rGzwAT1mbDM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHORSE%2BCHESTNUTS%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Queenriderbrekke

Think it's just a case of local knowledge as to where there are any in your area.

Queenriderbrekke

mountainchrisriver wrote: »

Aren't you meant to soak them in vinegar and bake in the oven...

That's the Horse Chestnuts!!!!! For playing conkers with:D

Sweet chstnuts an be eaten raw, boiled, roasted made into a puree for use in recipes:D

Cromer

Enjoy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_chestnuts.shtml

toni_

i collected lots today, its been really windy here and theres loads in the woods near where we live, going to roast them on the coal fire later tonight, lovely

Enterprise_1701C

it's quite funny really but we have a tree near us that is a good 2 weeks ahead of the rest. In the last weekend of September (it was REALLY early this year) I cooked and processed 14lbs of chestnuts as soup and stuffing, but it took me two weeks before that just peeling the things! I wish someone would invent a chestnut peeler, though I have to admit the end result is well worth the effort - I now have a whole drawer of my freezer devoted to chestnuts.