Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire (How To Roast Chestnuts)

November 30, 2013 at 7:34 am · Filed under Food Holidays, Fruits, Nuts & Seeds, Giftable, Snacks

[1] Chestnuts drop from the trees in the fall. See photo #4 (photo © Tijana Drndarrski | Unsplash).

Slicing the X Before Roasting Chestnuts
[2] Before roasting, make a cut in the shell so the steam can escape (photo © Chef Eddy).

Chestnuts Roasting On A Grill
[3] You can roast the chestnuts in the oven, on the stovetop, or on a grill (photo © Sid Wainer).

Chestnuts With Husks a.k.a. Burrs [4] The husk of the chestnut, also called the burr, is bright green and snazzy (photo © Umami Information Center | Facebook).

How would you like to roast your own chestnuts at home? Just the fragrant aroma of them is enough to make mouths water and fingers itch to peel them for snacking.

You don’t need a working fireplace to roast the chestnuts. Back in the old days, the fireplace was the only source of heat in the kitchen. Today, we have other options.

You can roast chestnuts in the oven in a pan, or on the stovetop with a special chestnut roasting pan. A chestnut roasting kit, complete with two pounds of chestnuts, is available at Melissas.com and elsewhere. It makes a nice family gift.

Compared to other nuts, chestnuts are composed chiefly of starch; other nuts have a larger percentage of protein.

The nutritional composition of chestnuts is similar to that of other starchy foods—corn, plantains, potatoes, etc. Yet, they are a better-for-you snack, a good source of minerals, vitamins, and some high-quality protein.

December 14th is Roast Chestnuts Day.

> The year’s 38 nut holidays.

Below:

> The history of chestnuts.

> Sing “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire.”

HOW TO ROAST CHESTNUTS

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Cut an X on the flat side of each nut using a small, sharp knife. Be careful not to cut into the nutmeat.

2. OVEN ROASTING: Place the nuts in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet and roast until the scored portions begin to curl up and the nuts release their fragrance, 15 to 20 minutes.

CHESTNUT PAN ROASTING: Heat the pan over medium-low heat and add the chestnuts. Cook, tossing the chestnuts frequently until the shells crack and the chestnuts are cooked through. The timing is 30 to 35 minutes over a gas flame burner or 35 to 40 minutes over an electric or induction burner.

3. REMOVE the nuts to a plate and eat immediately. Peeling the nuts is part of the fun, and each person may want to peel his or her own (or, you can peel all of them in the kitchen before serving). However, they are hot.

If the nuts are very hot, pick up individual nuts using a kitchen towel or other protection. Then with fingers or a knife, peel away the shell. Remove the inner skin, pop a nut into your mouth and enjoy.

THE CHRISTMAS SONG: LYRICS

“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” is the informal name of “The Christmas Song”; it was originally subtitled “Merry Christmas to You.” This Christmas classic was composed by Mel Torme and Bob Wells in 1946.

The most popular recording remains the first one, recorded by Nat King Cole. Here’s Nat King Cole on YouTube—the vocal track over a Christmas tree and fireplace visual.

You can sing along:

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.

They know that Santa’s on his way;
He’s loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother’s child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.

And so I’m offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although its been said many times, many ways,
A very Merry Christmas to you.

THE HISTORY OF CHESTNUTS

Chestnut trees first appear in the fossil record roughly 85 million years ago, long before the extinction of the dinosaurs (about 66 million years ago), and far before the appearance of mankind*.

From the beginning of mankind’s migration to the Northern Hemisphere, chestnuts were a dietary staple throughout temperate regions.

The European sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa), the Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima), the Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata), and the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) had long been integral to local ecosystems and, eventually, to humans.

The Romans cultivated European chestnuts extensively, spreading them across their empire and perfecting preservation techniques. They ground chestnuts into flour, which could be stored through winter and baked into a nutritious bread. Chestnuts proved invaluable in mountainous regions of Italy, Corsica, and parts of France, where wheat cultivation was difficult. There, chestnuts earned the nicknames “bread tree” and “grain that grows on trees.”

During the Middle Ages, chestnut cultivation intensified across Europe. Monasteries maintained vast chestnut groves, and feudal lords often demanded chestnuts as tribute from their tenants. As always, the nuts provided crucial calories during lean winter months, and their versatility—boiled, dried, milled, roasted—made them indispensable. European peasants relied so heavily on chestnuts that famines often followed poor chestnut harvests.

Across the ocean, the American chestnut dominated the forests of the eastern U.S. These majestic trees, which could reach heights of over one hundred feet with trunks six feet in diameter, comprised roughly one in four hardwood trees in Appalachian forests. Native American tribes gathered chestnuts as a food source and used the rot-resistant wood for building.

In the 16th century, European settlers to the U.S. valued the chestnut for food and timber, and tannin‡ production from the bark.

The 19th century saw the apex of chestnut culture in the U.S. Corner street vendors in cities roasted chestnuts during winter months, filling the air with alluring aroma. The timber industry prized American chestnut for its straight grain, workability, and natural resistance to decay. It was used for everything from railroad ties to fence posts to fine furniture.

The 20th century began in disaster. In 1904, a fungal blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) was discovered in the Bronx Zoo, likely introduced on imported Japanese chestnut trees. Within 50 years, the disease had killed an estimated four billion American chestnut trees, functionally eliminating the species from its native habitat. The ecological and economic impact was catastrophic, altering eastern forests and ending a way of life for countless communities that had depended on chestnut harvests.

Europe faced similar threats from ink disease and blight, though not to the same devastating extent as America. Asian species, having co-evolved with the blight pathogens, had natural resistance, which has made them central to modern restoration efforts.

Today, organizations like The American Chestnut Foundation work tirelessly to breed blight-resistant American chestnuts by crossing them with Chinese varieties, hoping to restore these giants to their native forests.

Meanwhile, chestnut cultivation continues globally, with China now producing the vast majority of the world’s chestnuts, followed by South Korea, Turkey, and Italy. The majority of chestnuts sold in the U.S. come from Italy and Turkey.

To a small extent, European sweet chestnuts, introduced by Thomas Jefferson in 1773, have become the primary source of commercial chestnuts grown domestically.

The U.S. also grows Chinese chestnuts and American-Chinese hybrid varieties that are resistant to chestnut blight. Domestic production comes mainly from Michigan, Florida, California, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington state.

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*The earliest members of our genus, Homo habilis, first appeared in Africa roughly 2.4–2.8 million years ago. However, the first human species to appear in temperate Eurasia, Homo erectus and relatives), only arrived to discover chestnuts around 2 million years ago.

†Tannins were used for tanning leather, dyeing fabrics, clarifying wine/beer, and making ink, among other things.

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