Saturday 19 October 2013

Generous Autumn.



I know I'm repeating myself, but so do the seasons, and so do the season's harvests.

We don't eat many Chestnuts.

I half-inch a few pockets-full, which we really enjoy when they first start to fall, then the next time we eat them will be at Christmas, with the Turkey.

Today is our local Chestnut Fair. I shall take a few snaps and maybe show you, tomorrow, how obsessive we all are about these little beauties.


Apart from Chestnuts, the other thing that always amazes me, at this time of year, is the colour of the Ferns. That amazing copper/bronze colour is just staggering. Unfortunately not something that can be best shown via a €70 camera. 




21 comments:

  1. Remember being in Normandy this time of year, about 15 years ago, was picking chestnuts up in huge quantities, none of the locals seemed interested, at the time they were about £2 per lb in UK.

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    1. I think they're fetching €3.20 a Kilo here at the moment (to the merchants).

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  2. So, for those of us who live in the tropics and don't know them as a food source , what do they taste like? Sweet or savory and how do you eat them?
    It's hard to imagine paying for them when they seem to be everywhere for the picking.

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    1. They need to be either roasted or boiled before eating; they are not too good raw. They are a savoury nut, which becomes softened on cooking. We tend to boil them, then eat them sprinkled with a little salt. They are an essential in the Christmas Turkey stuffing, otherwise are just eaten at this season around the evening fire.

      In my area, all the trees (which are grafted) are owned by particular farmers, and are an important crop. There are of course loads of 'wild' trees, but the nuts are usually much smaller.

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    2. I should have mentioned that for either way of cooking, they need to be pierced (I do mine with a cut cross at the pointed end). Otherwise; explosions!

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  3. The best thing about chestnuts, I have just discovered, is that spiders avoid them. Now I just need to find a few sacks to place strategically around the house. ;)

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    Replies
    1. Really? I shall have to spread them around a bit. Shame they don't last!

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  4. Chestnuts bring many chilhood memories for me ....... hot chestnuts from the man with the brazier in Oxford Street, London and roasting them on the coal shovel over the fire at home { God, I sound like something out of Dickens !! ..... just shows how old I am !! } I even like them raw with salt and with the brussel sprouts at Christmas.
    Enjoy the Chestnut Fair Cro. XXXX

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    Replies
    1. This not a sign of age Jacqueline; just the wisdom of gastronomy.

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  5. Nothing better than the smell of roasting chestnuts. Though can normally only get fresh ones at Christmas

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  6. Love roasting them around the fire, don't like burning my fingers as I greedily try to peel them but the vacuum packed ones just aren't the same.

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    1. Once the 'fresh' season is over, we resort to dry-bottled Chestnuts. They're very good. Don't buy them in water!

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  7. Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness?

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  8. I am so jealous of France having edible chestnuts. All we have here are something called 'horse chestnut trees' which look similar but can't be eaten. Unfair I say, unfair.

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    Replies
    1. You could always play 'conkers' with them. If this doesn't exist where you are; consult YouTube.

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  9. I wonder if they would grow here in Angola? Are they easy to grow from the chestnuts?

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    1. Sow a Chestnut and it will grow; no problem. But it will need to be grafted later on with a high yielding variety (unless you're lucky enough to have one that just comes good).

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  10. Again, lovely photos Cro. If your camera was cheap, you got a good deal! I especially like the first one.

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  11. The colours you've captured in your pictures are lovely - well done

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  12. We have a chestnut wood near us - I haven't foraged there for ages - I do love a roast chestnut - takes me right back to my childhood when there used to be a man in the street with a brazier selling paper bags full of them - oh my, did they taste good.

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