Monday 23 September 2019

In Readiness.



It's past mid-September, and already the farmers are spreading their nets in the Chestnut plantations.

I see that a few Chestnuts have already started to fall, and they appear not to have suffered too badly from the hot dry summer. 


The first to fall are always eagerly awaited, I cut a cross into the pointed end and boil them for about 15 mins; lovely sprinkled with a little salt.

The 2019 crop is looking OK; I've never known a really bad Chestnut year. They are deep-rooted trees and always find moisture.

We are desperate for rain. Even after yesterday's feeble attempt, it's still like the bloody Sahara here.

25 comments:

  1. The chestnut wood with Billy looks like the Garden of Eden without Adam and Eve.

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  2. Hope you have gentle steady rain when it comes.. downpours are more harmful than helpful.
    Chestnuts are a beautiful sight...and taste!!

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    Replies
    1. We are supposed to be having 3 days of rain from tomorrow; we'll see. We need it for mushrooms.

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    2. We have rain and mushrooms here (at present in West Wales)..we need a little more dry and sunshine!

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  3. Replies
    1. I prefer them cooked, but I know what you mean; they're nice raw.

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  4. We have has lovely rain here in hampshire along the south coast, with more due.

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    Replies
    1. Rubbish rain here yesterday, it just wetted the surface.

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  5. Those nuts look delicious. Much needed rain showers forecast for tomorrow here.

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    Replies
    1. We need several days of good constant rain, it's still terribly dry.

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  6. I think I would rather like to try your boiled and salted chestnuts.

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    Replies
    1. I remember seeing picture of an Aussie vineyard where there was a huge Chestnut tree, so I imagine they are available. The taste of Autumn.

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  7. I remember, as a young girl, the smell of roasting chestnuts. that were sold by vendors on the streets of New York during the fall and winter months. My mom could never resist and we always went home with a small bag of them. It was a wonderful treat. I don’t think I have eaten them since.

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  8. Replies
    1. Make sure you cut a cross into the pointed end. Not only does this stop them from exploding, it also makes them much easier to peel.

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  9. When I lived in California and shopped at Mitsuwa we would buy roasted chestnuts by the bag. Toasty warm and so good. I miss that.
    parsnip

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    Replies
    1. I prefer to toast them myself, as buying them already toasted can hide many ills.

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  10. I love chestnuts. I eat them as a vegetable and I make soup with them. The only thing I don't do is roast them because I don't have a good old fashioned fire on which to do it. I still remember the occasional one exploding (presumably not pierced properly) on the shovel on the fire.

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    Replies
    1. We have a special 'frying pan' with holes in the bottom for roasting Chestnuts. It's such an important crop here that I believe in times past the very poor would eat almost nothing else through the winter months, including soup, bread, and a type of porridge.

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  11. The family ate chestnuts occasionally. I didn't care for them. My father said American chestnuts aren't the quality of European chestnuts.

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    Replies
    1. I can't see why they should be any different, although I have heard that our mushrooms (Cepes) taste different in the US to here.

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  12. Ages ago we went to London in the late fall. Bought roasted chestnuts on the street corner. Good memory, good taste.

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    Replies
    1. They were always part of the scene in London; very nice too.

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