Learning how to prepare good chestnuts, this nut rich in properties, an ally of vegetarians and celiacs, can make our autumn the most memorable time of the year. Today, all about chestnuts, what they provide, and how to get the most out of them in the kitchen.
Chestnuts are a memorable memory, they are the aroma, the toasted tone of their shell burning on the flames, and the blanket of the Galician fields in autumn. They were also originally a staple food, accessible and satisfying. Now renamed, they serve as a dried fruit, an ally of vegetarian diets due to their protein, of celiac disease due to the potential of their gluten-free flour, and of our health in general due to their properties. We will talk about all this and the many ways to enjoy them, roasted, cooked, in cookies or jam, below.
What is chestnut?
The chestnut is the fruit of the chestnut tree ( Castanea sativa ), a tree with a robust trunk and a lifespan as long as the chestnut trees of Sanabria, Zamora, which are 900 years old. Its size matches its majesty with a height that can reach up to 30 meters.
Among the most well-known types worldwide are the Chinese chestnut ( Castanea mollissima ), the Japanese chestnut ( Castanea crenata ), and the American chestnut ( Castanea dentata ), which is often used in parks and cities. On the peninsula, as expected, the most common variety is the European one ( Castanea sativa ), which has the fruit wrapped in a thick, spiny pod and contains three to five chestnuts as we know them, wrapped in a thin, hard shell. They are an autumn classic that fills the streets and roasting stands in autumn, the classic time for their collection.
The nutritional virtues of chestnuts are their low-calorie content, low sodium, and high potassium content, as well as the presence of minerals and vitamins, which makes them an ideal snack for athletes, a suitable snack for weight loss diets, and a flexible and complete ingredient for making hundreds of healthy baking recipes.
Origin and history of the chestnut
The origin of the chestnut is in Asia Minor and the Caucasus. Traditionally, the Romans have been considered responsible for bringing chestnuts from those regions to Europe and spreading them throughout the Mediterranean.
Although there is a consensus among ecologists about the presence of chestnuts in these regions and their expansion by the hand of the Roman Empire, they recall that the presence of chestnuts was distributed worldwide since the Late Glacial, more than 10,000 years ago, as shown by fossil records in France. They claim that cold periods reduced their distribution, creating the so-called refuges, and pockets of chestnut trees in very specific and distant areas such as the Caucasus, Asia Minor but also Italy, and the Cantabrian coast of the Peninsula. Today, chestnuts are widely distributed throughout the northern humid zone of Spain from Galicia to Catalonia, covering Zamora, León, Asturias, Santander, the Basque Country, and Navarre.
Its culinary uses have also expanded along with it, and the chestnut, traditionally used as a perishable staple food in northern Europe, has evolved to become a specialty roasted, cooked, or made into puree or jam, and even turned into gluten-free cookies.
Nutritional value of chestnut
Chestnuts are one of the nuts with the lowest carbohydrate and calorie content. They have a high potassium content and a good supply of B vitamins. They also contain minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. They are notable for their high potassium and low sodium content, making them a good snack for people with high blood pressure.
- Water (g): 47.60
- Energy (kcal): 195.00
- Proteins (g): 3.00
- Total fat (g): 2.60
- Total carbohydrates (g): 40.00
- Dietary fiber (g): 6.80
- Calcium (mg): 34.00
- Iron (mg): 0.90
- Magnesium (mg): 36.00
- Sodium (mg): 11.00
- Potassium (mg): 500.00
- Phosphorus (mg): 256.00
- Thiamin or Vitamin B1 (mg): 0.20
- Riboflavin or Vitamin B2 (mg): 0.20
- Niacin (mg): 0.60
- Vitamin B6 (mg): 0.33
- Vitamin E (mg): 0.50
Properties and benefits of chestnut
Chestnuts have a nutritional profile rich in minerals and vitamins, fibre, water, and healthy fats. A composition that makes their consumption beneficial for taking care of our bones, our heart, and our digestive system. In addition, they have the added value of complementing vegetarian diets and their gluten-free flour is completely suitable for celiacs and gluten intolerants.
It is gluten-free
Chestnuts are gluten-free and their flour has been used for centuries to make bread, cakes, and biscuits. This culinary flexibility is a great advantage for people with celiac disease and gluten intolerance who can enjoy many recipes by replacing wheat flour with chestnut flour.
Good for bone health
There are three minerals that stand out for their role in the synthesis and maintenance of strong and healthy bones, and they are calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. The triad appears in full in the nutritional composition of chestnuts, so their consumption is related to better dental and bone health. In the case of women, their consumption is especially indicated during menopause.
It is a source of vegetable protein
Chestnuts are a very interesting ingredient to complete the protein intake in vegan and vegetarian diets. Although they are not the first on the list of nuts with the highest protein content, their low caloric content allows us to include them in our dishes much more frequently than other nuts such as walnuts or almonds.
Take care of your cardiovascular health
Chestnuts contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that lower cholesterol levels. Maintaining low LDL cholesterol levels reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, angina, and even strokes. On the other hand, the low sodium content of this nut makes it suitable for people with hypertension.
Helps fight obesity
The high water and fibre content and low sodium and calorie content of chestnuts contribute to increasing satiety and the elimination of liquids without providing a high energy intake. In addition, as they contain slow-absorbing complex carbohydrates, they have a low glycaemic index, avoiding undesirable spikes in blood sugar related to metabolic disorders such as diabetes.
Take care of the microbiota
The microbiota, also known as intestinal flora, is the set of microorganisms that live in our intestines. In the last decade, studies have shown that in addition to being essential for the assimilation of nutrients, it plays a fundamental role in mood thanks to its production of serotonin. A 100 g serving of baked chestnuts, so that they are not indigestible, can provide 30% of the recommended daily fiber. This insoluble fiber acts as a prebiotic, the food of our microbiota, so the consumption of chestnuts helps us maintain a healthy intestinal flora.
Contraindications of chestnut
Chestnuts have few contraindications beyond the usual recommendations of not giving nuts to children under 3 years old, as well as consuming them in moderation to avoid intestinal discomfort. Fortunately, even for the latter there are resources that allow us to continue enjoying them.
Allergies
Chestnuts are part of the group of nuts responsible for a high incidence of allergies. For this reason, it is important to be alert before consuming them for the first time to detect possible reactions such as itching, redness or skin irritation, among others, in order to have adequate medical supervision.
Flatulence and digestive discomfort
It is true that chestnuts’ rich insoluble fibre content offers multiple health benefits. However, this fruit is not made up of fibre alone. There are other components such as oligosaccharides, a type of complex carbohydrate, and organic compounds such as tannins that are involved in the appearance of flatulence and possible constipation. The key to enjoying chestnuts without suffering from these discomforts is to consume them in moderate handfuls and in preparations that have involved roasting or cooking at high temperatures. In this way, we reduce the action of these compounds and avoid suffering the associated discomforts.
When is the chestnut season?
Chestnut harvesting depends on the variety, its maturity period, and the altitude where it is grown. Thus, chestnut varieties grown between 500 and 1000 meters above sea level have a longer harvesting period.
In any case, the chestnut season is considered to be from September to October, with the later varieties being ideal for harvesting in early November. For this reason, the chestnut is one of the most iconic fruits of the European autumn.
How to make roasted chestnuts and other recipes
What other indelible memory do chestnuts give us than the first time we roast them in a perforated bottom pan, and we witness from our own kitchens the action of the flame, their roasting, and the opening of the shell? After the essential previous step of a small incision in the shell that not only allows us to peel it easily but also avoids unpleasantries caused by the increase in pressure due to the heat, we can now throw them into the pan and wait to have our due feast in a few minutes.
Of course, we can also prepare chestnuts in the oven or make chestnuts in the microwave, although these are formats that cannot compare with the visual legacy of good chestnuts roasted over the fire.
If we want to cook them beyond heat, this whitish fruit can be candied, prepared as a puree or jam and its flour can be used in baking to prepare classics such as castagnaccio, the quintessential Italian chestnut cake.
It also filters into the savoury preparations of those chefs who enhance their sauces, garnishes, and fillings with chestnuts, and in October, it accompanies wonderfully the other seasonal product, mushrooms, in a delicious mushroom and chestnut risotto. Anyone can end the menu with a juicy chestnut flan.