Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Sweet Chestnut along with all the Sweet Chestnut containing recipes presented on this site, with 21 recipes in total.

These recipes, all contain Sweet Chestnut as a major wild food ingredient.

The Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa, (also known as Spanish Chestnut, Portuguese Chestnut or European chestnut is a member of the Fagaceae (beech) family of deciduous trees and shrubs. Sweet chestnut itself is a medium-sized deciduous tree that, at maturity grows to a height of 20–35 m with a trunk often reaching 2m in diameter. It is highly prized for its edible seeds (commonly know as nuts) and though a native of southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, it was introduced into more northerly regions by the Romans and later became prized as an ornamental garden plant.

The tree bears oblong-lanceolate, boldly toothed leaves that are typically 16–28 cm long and 5–9 cm broad. It flowers in late June to July and the tree bears both male and female flowers. These are borne in 10-20 cm long, upright catkins, the male flowers in the upper part and female flowers in the lower part. By autumn, the female flowers develop into spiny capsules containing 3–7 brownish nuts that are shed during October.

Sweet chestnut is widely cultivated for its edible seeds (the chestnuts themselves) and as a result, it now grows wild through out most of Europe. They are widely popular in Turkey, Portugal, France, Hungary, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and particularly in Corsica where they used, ground, by confectioners in puddings, desserts and cakes or are eaten roasted. They can also be turned into a flour or brewed into a beer.

The husk of the seed is very tough and the easiest way to prepare chestnuts is to cut a cross in the tufted end then blanch in boiling water. Once drained the husk will simply peel away. If these are then discarded the white seeds inside can be dried and then ground into sweet chestnut flour which is uses for pasta, breads and cakes. When roasted until dark, chestnuts can be used as a coffee substituted, or it can be mixed with coffee as an adulterant or flavouring.

Sweet Chestnuts can also be candied (marrons glacées) and they can be pickled or stored in syrup for later use.

If should be noted that raw sweet chestnuts are rather bland and astringent in taste but once cooked they develop a pleasant sweet and nutty taste that is most appealing. The sweet chestnut is one of the most versatile of the wild foods and is well worth foraging for. Of course, you can always use the shop-bought variety (typically Spanish).

As sweet chestnuts are an introduced species in Britain they are most commonly found near human habitation. As a result I am classifying it as an urban forageable food.

References:

[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1999
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–12.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants, 2004
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland, 2011
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) — How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland, 2006
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles, 1983
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles, 1987
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms, 2006
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms, 2011
[12]. Bunker, F. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland, Second Edition, 2017
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia II — A Source Book of Edible Plants, 1998
[14]. Hartford, R. Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of Britain and Ireland: A Foraging and Photographic Identification Guide
(Note that the above book links are Amazon Affiliate links)