Noble chestnut belongs to the beech family, and reaches a height of thirty meters. Its homeland is the Mediterranean and the Balkan Peninsula. These trees can be found in different parts of the world. In China, Japan and the Middle East, they appeared thousands of years ago. In Europe, chestnut grows in German parkland. In other territories it is found in wild forests in the wild. It blooms in May - June. Its shiny, brown fruits are encased in a brown shell with spikes. Great dishes are prepared from them. They belong to a variety of stone nuts. These trees grow slowly, the first fruits appear after fifteen years. Gourmets claim that they are truly delicious, they only become, after half a century.
The sweet, as if polished, fruits of a noble chestnut have been eaten since ancient times. They can be fried, boiled, and even eaten raw. They are high-calorie, but in terms of fat content, inferior to walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts. Edible chestnuts have many minerals that are beneficial to the human body. They contain fiber and a set of vitamins A, B and C.
Edible chestnuts are believed to be the first appeared in recipes for Northern Italy and Lombardy, then in France. In the autumn, they were the main food of European peasants. The dried fruits were ground into flour, and bread and cakes were baked from it. In the sixteenth century, in Tuscan villages, the Tuscan inhabitants ate most of the year on chestnuts and ate up to two kilograms of these nuts per day.
Edible chestnuts were famous in America. The indigenous inhabitants of the continent added them to the roast, baked bread from them, and from the fried fruits they brewed a hot drink resembling coffee. In Japan, they were an integral part of the traditional New Year's menu. In Corsica, 22 dishes are still served at the wedding table. Italians' favorite dessert is oatmeal with chestnuts, raisins, anise and pine nuts, baked and flavored with butter.
Before cooking these nuts, they must be peeled. First, the peel is crosswise incised, then edible chestnuts are boiled for 5-7 minutes with the addition of vegetable oil. After that, the peel is easily removed. Peeled fruits are boiled in a strong meat broth until they become soft. Knead in mashed potatoes and add eggs. An omelet is prepared from this mixture. You can fill it with red sauce. For such a dish you will need three eggs, one hundred grams of chestnuts, three tablespoons of milk and two tablespoons of sauce.
Chestnuts with apple and onions can be prepared as a side dish for baked or roasted duck. For this dish you will need 250 grams of onions, two apples, 40 grams of butter, a few tablespoons of white wine and one hundred milliliters of chicken stock. Salt, pepper, marjoram to taste, plus half a kilogram of fruit. First you need to fry the onions in butter, add the chestnuts, mix and stew this mixture for ten minutes. Then we pour wine, broth there, and sprinkle with dry marjoram. Let all this continue to stand on fire for another 20 minutes. After this time, we put chopped apples in this side dish for another five minutes. At the end, the dish is peppered and salted. A delicious, healthy and low-calorie side dish is ready to eat.
Not only the fruits of this famous and popular plant have found their application. Chestnut leaves are used for medicinal purposes. They contain components that produce a healing effect. These include tannins, flavonoids and triterpene. Traditional medicine has been using the beneficial properties of chestnut for many years. "Castaneae folium." Harvesting of raw materials is carried out in early autumn. Dried leaves are brewed and consumed in the form of hot tinctures, which are considered a good remedy for whooping cough, asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases.