Spanish Chestnuts

My walk today took me through the chestnut groves. The spiky hulls were littered all over the ground. The fruit has fallen early this year. Unfortunately, the crop is for timber and the fruits are very small and not worth collecting in this wood but it's a bonanza for the wildlife. Old moss covered stumps have evidence of the creatures that take the small chestnuts onto the tops and use them as tables.

A friend has a number of trees on her land that produce Marrons. To make Maron Glace is a long and laborious process that requires boiling the peeled chestnuts in sugar syrup two to three times a day for about a week. The end product is delicious and worth the effort. The major headaches are peeling them and, worse, getting the marrons out of their lethal encasements in the first place!

We all know the odour of chestnuts roasting on a fire. Chestnuts have been a staple food for thousands of years, in many places replacing potatoes or wheat bread. They are ground to make flour in many countries and in mediteranean countries many wonderful local breads and cakes are made from it.
Unlike other nuts, chestnuts not only uniquely contain vitamin C, but have to be treated like a fresh fruit. A high water content makes them go off very quickly and to keep them for longer than a few days they have to be soaked in salt water immediately after picking to conserve them.

If you are lucky enough to have a good tree nearby, try some recipes.

Quick added note. Do not try to eat Horse Chestnuts... leave them for Conker players. They are not edible.