Chestnuts

[HenPen]

I have found some really brilliant, plump chestnuts and was wondering about storage. A few years ago I came across a bumper crop in the woods, stuffed my (quite deep!) pockets and took them home to store, imagining evenings of roasting chestnuts. But within quite a short time they had spoiled.

You get string bags of chestnuts in the shops and they keep for ages. How come? Can I do anything to make these foraged chestnuts last into the really chilly evenings, so we can look forward to "chestnuts roasting on an open fire"?

[fabindia]

Interesting question, to which I have no answer myself. I have found even shop bought chestnuts seem to go off pretty quick. Some sort of fungus or mould I guess.

Found a few sweet chestnuts on my way home tonight. Will roast them on top of the stove.

To some extent, I don't worry about storing this sort of stuff for too long , to me it is part of the joy of seasonal food

[HenPen]

You make a very good point about seasonal food. Perhaps it is best just to enjoy them now!

[lancashire lass]

You can refrigerate the chestnuts and they will keep a little longer for a few weeks. Alternatively, you can freeze them but the texture is a bit mealy afterwards.

However, the best way is to preserve them to use later - cooking in a syrup or roasting/drying them for future recipes. There are loads of recipes if you google

[HedgeHugger]

I peeled, boiled and de-skinned chestnuts this year, then froze them.
They seem to keep ok that way, no change in texture.
Just pull them out of the freezer as you want them.
You can store them loose as long you freeze them in a single layer on a tray, then bag them up. Otherwise they all clump together and need a bit of knocking about, whacking, etc, to break them apart.