Ever since I was a kid, I have always wondered about Chestnuts roasting by an open fire. That song makes the image so romantic and nostalgic. So, on our nightly walk yesterday, we found loads of fresh Chestnuts under our neighbours tree. The kids collected as many as they could carry and were thrilled at their find. They were even more thrilled when I mentioned that you could eat them. All I knew about eating them though is from that song, that you must roast them by an open fire. Well, no open fires here, but I thought the oven would do just fine. I set out last night to research how to roast Chestnuts and found some great sites. So today since there is no school... we roasted.
Cut small x's in the flat part of the Chestnut
Soak the Chestnuts for about 15 minutes in water to help the shell come off when cooked
Remove from water and place x side up on baking sheet
Roast for about 15 min at 400 degrees
Enjoy!
Well, enjoy might be a bit of an exaggeration. The constancy of the nut when cooked is like mashed potatoes, not a hit with our kids and when I tasted it, it was pleasant until a burning bitter aftertaste overwhelmed my mouth. So, the beautiful bowl of Chestnuts we spent an half an hour working on are now int the garbage. Cici's comment on the whole thing "yuck, they are gross, but they are fun to collect". That sums it up.
I admire your efforts. I too tried to do this in Abbotsford, only to be told (once the bitter taste subsided) that you can only roast and eat certain chestnuts - not the I've got a tree in my backyard kind. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteYes, we were just about to devour the chestnuts when Joel walked in and told us that some kinds are toxic. He saved us from ourselves!!!
ReplyDeletewho knew, why don't people... like your parents... teach you this stuff??
ReplyDeleteI tried to trick Paul into tasting them, but it didn't work.
The funny thing was I saw in the Superstore flyer that they have them on sale for 98 cents a pound. I thought, "who would by them from the store when you can just get them in your backyard!" Now I see why they sell them.
ReplyDeleteby the way Karis - we've been meaning to have the "roasted chestnut talk" with you for some time. Sorry you had to learn it from the streets!
ReplyDelete