Chestnut
Castanea sativa · Nut
Top 10 pairings
Chestnuts are glossy mahogany nuts, starchy rather than oily, so they cook soft and floury like potatoes. Roasted over coals they are Europe's winter street snack, and they are whipped into Mont Blanc or milled into flour.
Picking a good onedrag
Just fallen, glossy, rock-hardDried out, mouldy, fermenting
CuredEveryday bestScore every shell before it meets heat, then roast. Or boil and peel for puree, soup or stuffing.
The shellBright, a dull scuff or two
SqueezeDents just slightly under the thumb
The pale scarTan, the rim just darkening
SmellAlmost nothing, cool and starchy
What you get from one
74%
Edible part
9 g kernel - shell off, papery pellicle still on
12 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 7× longer than the counter.
90-95%
Humidity
Perforated, never sealed
Airflow