Chestnuts • High-Fence Farm LLC

Chestnuts at High-Fence Farm

Every year in mid September we sell fresh chestnuts, but only for a short time, so order yours today. We are not a mega-chestnut farm. We just have a few trees, but we would like to share our chestnuts with you. Unlike the big guys we don't grade our nuts by size. Our chestnuts are mixed sizes, just like they come from the trees. Most of them are quite large, reaching an inch and a half in diameter. Some of them are not quite that large, but still well over an inch in diameter. They all sell for one reasonable price, usually quite a bit cheaper than the large online orchards.

Chestnut Handling and Storage

Chestnuts are highly perishable because they are about 50% water. Left out on a kitchen counter top they will quickly mold, dry out, or both. The key to fresh, tasty chestnuts lies in handling and storage.

Picking the nuts daily from the orchard floor is a must. Every morning we pick nuts that have fallen over night. Sometimes we go through a couple more times in the day to pick up nuts that have fallen later in the day.
As soon as the nuts are picked they are packed in breathable bags and stored in refrigeration, waiting for purchase and shipment.

Once you receive your nuts you should also refrigerate them. They will keep well in the crisper drawer of your fridge for several weeks. You may be purchasing them for a special holiday more than a few weeks away. If you are not going to use them right away, they should be sealed in freezer bags and frozen. When you begin to use these frozen nuts, pull out only what you are going to use immediately and do not refreeze them.

Cooking Chestnuts

Uncooked chestnuts don't taste awful; they just are better cooked. Raw chestnuts have the texture of raw carrots. Every first-timer has to try one. To prepare chestnuts for eating you need to do two things before putting them in an oven or roasting pan, or boiling pot.

Rinse the chestnuts well under cold water. Chestnuts fall from the tree and land on the orchard floor below so they are like anything fresh from the farm: they bring a tiny bit of the farm with them even though you may not see it.
Make a cut through the nut's outer shell to keep it from exploding during cooking. Because the nut is 50% water, steam is created in the shell as you cook and that steam needs a vent to escape out of the shell. Make a large X over the rounded side of the nut, making sure to cut through the shell. A chestnut knife is handy but not essential. Be careful no matter how you cut/score the nuts; they are slippery little devils. This is an adults-only task. If you are boiling or microwaving the nuts, simply cut the nuts in half. They peel much easier with those two methods of cooking.

Cooking the washed and scored nuts can be done a number of ways. The magic cook time regardless of method is about 15 minutes (except microwave). You will have to experiment by pulling a nut or two out along the process to get the timing just right.

Microwave: A man's favorite method. If you want a handful to snack on take a dozen clean nuts and cut them in half. Wrap them in a moistened paper towel and nuke for one minute. Most of the kernels will fall out of the shell on their own. Some will have to be coaxed out with a fork. All of them WILL be hot; be careful. Dip them in melted butter and eat while still warm, or use them in a recipe. Be careful about over cooking or the kernels will be tough and/or rubbery.
Boiling: We have found that cutting the nuts in half suit this cooking method as well. Place the halved nuts in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Look for the kernel halves to begin swelling out of their shells. Don't over cook or the nuts will crumble apart. Peel the reluctant ones while they are still quite warm. When they cool down they are much harder to get the skin and/or the outer shell to come away cleanly.
Baking or Broiling: Score the cleaned nuts face up on a cookie sheet one layer thick and place in an oven preheated to 400º for about 15 minutes. Keep a close watch on the nuts. About halfway through toss the nuts around to cook them on both sides. It's okay to blacken the shells but be careful about burning the kernels. Pull a few out and see if they are done. While still hot the shells will be brittle and they should peel quite easily.
Roasting on an Open Fire: If you have a fire pit in the back yard, or like to go camping this is the classic way to cook chestnuts. Any shallow pan will work but a special chestnut pan with holes in the bottom is a plus. Cook them until the shells burn a bit, but only until the kernels brown a bit. Peel and eat while still hot. Melted butter is always good.