Only wild chestnuts grow in Russia, they are also called noble, but they have nothing to do with edible nuts, they even belong to completely different families. The birthplace of edible chestnuts is the Balkan Peninsula. Chestnut trees can often be seen in many cities and countries.
Their brilliant and mouth-watering fruits attract urban residents, many try to use them in cooking, but this is unsafe for health. Horse chestnut (stomach) has taken root well in Russia. Edible chestnut began to be eaten by our ancestors even before grain crops.
In the Mediterranean countries, it is distributed in the wild. This plant is well established on acidic soil and tolerates frosts. Chestnut trees are long-livers, they live about 300 years and begin to bear fruit only from the age of 60.
Edible chestnut is rich in nutrients, it is also widely used in alternative medicine to treat various ailments. Chestnuts are not an exotic product; they are easy to get at supermarkets. This product is very high-calorie and nutritious, so people who are obese or overweight need to be careful about eating chestnuts.
It is worth noting that in ripened fruits there are several times more vitamins. Chestnuts are rich in vitamins A, B, C, minerals (potassium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, copper, calcium), fiber, proteins and carbohydrates. In addition to fruits, you can eat directly the leaves themselves, which contain vitamin K, pectins, glycosides, rutin, carotenoids, flavone compounds and tannins.
Edible chestnut, useful properties
Most people do not suspect that in addition to a pleasant taste, these fruits are also a source of vitamins and minerals necessary for our body. In alternative medicine, horse and edible chestnuts are used. From the fruits, a healing extract is obtained, with which you can restore tone, strengthen capillaries, blood vessels, and normalize blood circulation.
Leaves and nuts are pre-dried and a healing broth is prepared from them, which is used for inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system. In turn, fresh leaves help sick whooping cough. With diseases of the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract, a decoction of chestnuts and tree bark helps well. Also, this decoction is used as lotions for abscesses and ulcers.
Edible chestnut is used to treat dysentery and inflammatory diseases of the urinary sphere. The infusion of flowers, bark and seeds has an astringent and antipyretic property. Such an infusion is indicated for rheumatism, cataracts of the lungs and for the restoration of digestion.
Chestnut is especially effective for varicose veins. To get rid of this ailment, various parts of the chestnut tree are used, from which decoctions, ointments and lotions are prepared. When the chestnut begins to bloom, it is necessary to collect its flowers and squeeze the juice from them, then dilute with water in a ratio of 30/1. This infusion wipe sore spots several times a day.
Edible chestnut helps women with painful and heavy menstruation, as well as during menopause. To do this, use juice from chestnut inflorescences and diluted in 10 g. water for 30 drops of juice, drink twice a day.
Chestnut honey is especially appreciated for its antimicrobial effect, it is recommended to use it for intestinal disorders and vascular diseases. Chestnut honey has a slightly bitter taste, it is rich in a whole complex of vitamins. It can be stored for up to three years without crystallizing.
The beneficial properties of edible chestnut are not lost even during cooking. Typically, the fruit is fried and consumed in a cooled form.