6. Chestnuts are enormously versatile
We are of course partial to a roast chestnut, but the nut can also be boiled, pureed, grilled, steamed, deep-fried, candied or (as aforementioned) ground into flour. Chestnuts can be churned into ice cream or stirred into savoury stuffings. Fabio Parasecoli still cooks up his grandmother’s chestnut and chickpea soup on Christmas Eve, and the Tuscans make a chestnut cake called “castagnaccio”, which combines chestnuts, walnuts, olive oil, raisins and rosemary. However, the one way you shouldn’t eat this versatile food is raw – chestnuts contain tannic acid, which can upset the stomach!
The one way you shouldn’t eat this versatile food is raw – chestnuts contain tannic acid, which can upset the stomach!
7. The chestnut is the only nut that contains vitamin C
Chestnuts are a great source of potassium, as well as minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and zinc. They also contain B vitamins and are low in fat. Most notably, however, they are exceptionally rich in vitamin C – with a 30g serving providing 20% of our recommended daily intake. The high concentration of vitamin C and other antioxidants make them a friend to our immune system at the time of year when we need it the most!
8. Over 80% of the world’s total crop emanates from China
These days we get most of our chestnuts from China. In fact, China dominates the market, producing 22 times more chestnuts than the next largest producing country. That’s over 80% of the world’s total crop! At present the Chinese have a total crop of 1.8 million tonnes, but this is expected to climb to over two million tonnes this year.
9. The oldest chestnut tree in the world grows on an active volcano
“Castagno dei Cento Cavalli” or “The Hundred-Horse Chestnut”, is the largest and oldest known chestnut tree in the world. It is between 2,000 and 4,000 years old and, when it was measured in 1780, had a circumference of 190 feet. The tree has now split in to several large trunks but they still share the same roots. The tree sits on the eastern slope of Mount Etna, just 8km from the Sicilian volcano's crater! According to legend, the tree gained its name after a Queen and her entourage of a hundred knights took shelter under its branches during a storm.
