Chestnuts roasting on an..

Merlin5 · 26 Oct 2020 at 13:39

My neighbour and his daughter had been out collecting chestnuts and just gave me a massive load of them!

I believe they're ok for about a month in the fridge. I'm going to wash a bunch of them, score an X on the rounded side so they don't burst and roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
Anyone roasted chestnuts before?

Oh Ed not again. · 26 Oct 2020 at 13:41

Yes, many times. Prefer them served with roasted Brussel sprouts and panchetta. Nom nom nom.

Raymond Lin · 26 Oct 2020 at 14:09

In a wok, low heat, keep stirring...just like on the street!

Merlin5 · 26 Oct 2020 at 15:04

Raymond Lin said:
In a wok, low heat, keep stirring...just like on the street!

That's a good idea. Do I need to score them first, and with oil in the wok? And how long until they're done?

Raymond Lin · 26 Oct 2020 at 15:55

Merlin5 said:
That's a good idea. Do I need to score them first, and with oil in the wok? And how long until they're done?

No oil, just keep moving them around.

jpaul · 26 Oct 2020 at 18:18

have always roasted them under the grill, after stabbing with a skewer, pretty dangerous/messy when they explode though. ... I wonder if you could microwave them

can you do a chesnut butter, for toast/bread ?

Steampunk · 26 Oct 2020 at 23:56

jpaul said:
have always roasted them under the grill, after stabbing with a skewer, pretty dangerous/messy when they explode though. ... I wonder if you could microwave them

can you do a chesnut butter, for toast/bread ?

You can get chestnut puree, so thickening it up into a butter sounds doable. We once did marrons glacé, which are candied whole chestnuts. It took ages, but tasted nice, and we gave little bags away at Christmas, and everyone liked them.

Nabeshogun · 5 Nov 2020 at 13:25

I love a chestnut and it's almost that time of year again ... they do seem real hit or miss, if you leave them a day suddenly they're no good any more ... always do them in the oven after scoring a cross on them to aid with peeling later but even them sometimes it doesn't help.

vanpeebles · 5 Nov 2020 at 13:35

jpaul said:
have always roasted them under the grill, after stabbing with a skewer, pretty dangerous/messy when they explode though. ... I wonder if you could microwave them

can you do a chesnut butter, for toast/bread ?

My Granda has had good success in microwaving them. Still need a slight cut first though.

Randomface74 · 5 Nov 2020 at 13:42

Never had them, are they actually good, or just something weird and minging like eggnog, mulled wine, christmas pudding, etc.

Nabeshogun · 5 Nov 2020 at 14:28

billysielu said:
Never had them, are they actually good, or just something weird and minging like eggnog, mulled wine, christmas pudding, etc.

Hard to say here, because while mulled wine is horrid, christmas pudding (if you get the little ones that are real moist, and then load it up on brandy cream) is something I very much like ... Chestnuts can be a bit hit or miss but think of it as just a nice warm soft nut, so I dunno, how excited do you get over a cashew?

pepp77 · 5 Nov 2020 at 14:42

Nabeshogun said:
Hard to say here, because while mulled wine is horrid, christmas pudding (if you get the little ones that are real moist, and then load it up on brandy cream) is something I very much like ... Chestnuts can be a bit hit or miss but think of it as just a nice warm soft nut, so I dunno, how excited do you get over a cashew?

Aah see I love Cashews (favourite nut), but cant stand chestnuts.

Nabeshogun · 5 Nov 2020 at 14:49

pepp77 said:
Aah see I love Cashews (favourite nut), but cant stand chestnuts.

If you normally asked me I'd probably say a cashew was my favourite ... though a pistachio (if already shelled) is nice, you can't make praline with hazlenuts, pecan tarts are great but mainly due to the syrupy bit... basically I'm saying there is many nuts I value ... buuuut as chestnuts have been brought up, if we're comparing 2 plain nuts then I think chestnuts might take it ... but maybe that's not a fair comparison as I've never had a freshly cooked cashew, and I imagine if chestnuts were cold and left in a bag a month they'd not be great ... and cashews do have more variety - a honey roasted cashew is the kinda thing I'd really hope to see a bowl of if I'm ending up playing a family game of monopoly over Christmas and stuff.

Randomface74 · 5 Nov 2020 at 15:31

Don't mind the occasional cashew. Not enough into nuts for them to be a regular purchase tho.

jpaul · 5 Nov 2020 at 15:51

billysielu said:
Never had them, are they actually good, or just something weird

not served in McDonalds so that puts them on the goodness scale -
not sure if they are still sold on the London streets ? they are, usually, takeaway, after all.

seabiscuit · 5 Nov 2020 at 21:44

Chestnuts are amazing. When me and Mrs S bought our house we bought some sweet chestnut tree saplings. They just looked like twigs and Mrs S thought I was crazy. But now they are at least twice my height, so probably about 4 times her height. Most years so far they have produced fruit/spikey shells, but the nuts inside have not filled out yet. This year I found a couple of fuller ones dropped on the ground, but wildlife got to them first. I'm hoping we might be more successful next year now the trees are getting a bit older.

EssexBoy · 5 Nov 2020 at 21:48

Prefer them done over coal