chestnuts
General information on boiled chestnuts
Chestnuts can be eaten fresh, boiled or roasted, or dried and ground to make flour.
In this article we will talk about boiled chestnuts, one of the most characteristic Italian dishes based on these starchy fruits. Typical of the autumn season, boiled chestnuts are consumed especially at the end of a meal, instead of dessert, fresh fruit or cheese.
Organic and botanical notes on chestnut
"Chestnuts" means the edible fruits produced from deciduous trees and shrubs, belonging to the Fagaceae family and the genus Castanea ; some widespread species are: alnifolia, dentata, henryi, mollissima, ozarkensis, pumila, sativa and seguinii .
A native of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, in Italy the Genus Castanea is an integral part of the spontaneous Apennine and Alpine lower maquis. The chestnut groves are also the subject of cultivation and reforestation, since the collection and sale of chestnuts is an excellent source of income. Moreover, the chestnut groves offer the right environment for the development of some porcini mushrooms.
Today more than ever, these plants seem to suffer particularly from climate change, diseases and pests. Also for this reason, local chestnuts have a price significantly higher than those imported from abroad.
Nutritional introduction on boiled chestnuts
The nutritional classification of boiled chestnuts is rather complicated. These are fresh starchy fruits and with limited amounts of water; chestnuts are therefore different from:
- Fresh watery fruits, rich in fructose (peaches, apples, cherries, strawberries, etc.)
- Dried oily fruits (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, etc.).
Instead they have more affinity with potatoes, which on the other hand are tubers, and with cereals and legumes, which constitute the seeds of certain herbaceous plants. A plant, not Italian, that produces fruits similar from the nutritional point of view is the bread tree (Genus Artocarpus ).
Boiled chestnuts are rather caloric foods, characterized by high levels of complex carbohydrates. Their use in the diet must be appropriately calculated, since they often represent objects of abuse, caloric excess and reason for weight gain.
Nutritional Properties
Nutritional considerations on chestnuts
Chestnuts are foods of plant origin that, from the botanical point of view, are considered real fruits. However, due to the ambiguity of their nutritional content, they are not classified in a precise fundamental group of foods.
They do not contain vitamin A but, based on the "USDA Nutrient Database", they bring significant amounts of vitamin C (the data is not confirmed by the INRAN database). However, most of this vitamin is lost during cooking, an essential procedure since raw chestnuts are NOT edible.
The only common characteristics of chestnuts with fresh fruits are:
- Potassium intake (good)
- The fiber intake (high).
They are also different from dried fruit (oil seeds), instead characterized by a high fat content, with little water and carbohydrates.
Chestnuts, on the other hand, have more affinity with the fundamental group III and IV (cereals, potatoes and legumes).
Below is a small summary table comparing the caloric density and the starch and water content of: raw semolina pasta (dry), type 00 bread (cooked), potatoes (raw), beans (raw) and chestnuts (raw).
| Raw semolina pasta (100 g) | Type 00 bread (100 g) | chestnuts (100 g) | Raw beans (100 g) | Potatoes (100 g) | |
| water | 10.8 g / 100 g | 29.0 g / 100 g | 55.8 g / 100 g | 60.8 g / 100 g | 78.5 g / 100 g |
| Starch | 68.1 g / 100 g | 59.1 g / 100 g | 25.3 g / 100 g | 19.5 g / 100 g | 15.9 g / 100 g |
| Power | 353 kcal / 100 g | 289 kcal / 100 g | 165 kcal / 100 g | 133 kcal / 100 g | 85 kcal / 100 g |
Note : keep in mind that raw semolina pasta and bread are totally and partially dehydrated foods. The fresh cereal (normally impossible to find) would contain a percentage of water and carbohydrates more similar to that of chestnuts and beans.
Nutritional properties of boiled chestnuts
Boiled chestnuts are foods with significant energy intake, which can be considered high or medium, depending on the context in which they are inserted; in the field of fresh fruits it is very high, in the context of starchy foods it is instead average.
They contain a slightly higher percentage of water than the raw ones, even if the reason is not clear; generally, the food water content increases if the product is in direct contact with the fluid during cooking. Chestnuts, on the other hand, are cooked with the peel which, in the short term, is insoluble and hermetic (therefore waterproof).
Calories are supplied mainly by complex carbohydrates, followed by modest percentages of proteins and lipids. The carbohydrates tend to be complex, consisting of starch (although about 8% is based on sucrose, glucose and fructose), and peptides of medium biological value (limiting amino acid: tryptophan); fatty acids are probably unsaturated (specific details are not available).
The fiber content is very high, even higher than that of almost all fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes, potatoes, etc. (only oilseeds hold the comparison); among the fibers, however, there are also certain “non available carbohydrates”, especially stachiosio and raffinose, responsible for the typical production of intestinal gas caused by the intake of chestnuts. Cholesterol, lactose and histamine are absent.
The only allergen contained in them is made up of proteins but, statistically, chestnut allergy is quite rare.
With regard to mineral salts, the levels of potassium and copper appear to be quite significant; as far as vitamins are concerned, on the other hand, concentrations of water-soluble B2 (riboflavin) and PP (niacin) are significant.
As anticipated in the previous paragraph, according to an American source (USDA Nutrient Database) chestnuts are rich in vitamin C. On the other hand, to make them edible, it is essential to cook them for a long time. Being a thermolabile vitamin, ascorbic acid is particularly susceptible to heat and is degraded up to 40% by cooking.
In people who do not have problems with constipation, significant amounts of chestnuts can determine: increased evacuation, bloating and flatulence, abdominal distention and swelling.
Boiled chestnuts have no counter-indications for vegetarian and vegan philosophies, nor for religious nutritional regimes such as kosher, Muslim and Hindu.
The average portion of boiled chestnuts, used as a meal, is 60-80 g (about 100-130 kcal). Wanting to insert them instead of a first course, the average portion is 200 g (about 330 kcal). Instead of bread, the average portion is 100 g (about 165 kcal).
| chestnuts | Boiled chestnuts | ||
| Edible part | 85% | 88% | |
| water | 55.8 g | 63.3 g | |
| Protein | 2.9 g | 2.5 g | |
| Lipids TOT | 1.7 g | 1.3 g | |
| Saturated fatty acids | - g | - g | |
| Monounsaturated fatty acids | - g | - g | |
| Polyunsaturated fatty acids | - g | - g | |
| Cholesterol | 0.0 mg | 0.0 mg | |
| TOT Carbohydrates | 36.7 g | 26.1 g | |
| Starch | 25.3 g | 16.9 g | |
| Soluble sugars | 8.9 g | 7.5 g | |
| Dietary fiber | 4.3 g | 5.4 g | |
| Soluble fiber | 0.37 g | 0.59 g | |
| Insoluble fiber | 4.33 g | 4.84 g | |
| Power | 165.0 kcal | 120.0 kcal | |
| Sodium | 9.0 mg | - mg | |
| Potassium | 395.0 mg | - mg | |
| Iron | 0.9 mg | - mg | |
| Football | 30.0 mg | - mg | |
| Phosphorus | 81.0 mg | - mg | |
| Magnesium | - mg | - mg | |
| Zinc | - mg | - mg | |
| Copper | 0.4 mg | - mg | |
| Selenium | - µg | - µg | |
| Thiamine | 0.08 mg | - mg | |
| Riboflavin | 0.28 mg | - mg | |
| Niacin | 1.11 mg | - mg | |
| Vitamin A | 0.0 µg | 0.0 µg | |
| C vitamin | 40.2 mg * | - mg | |
| Vitamin E | - mg | - mg | |
* This value is provided by the "USDA Nutrient Database".
Preparation and Recipe
Recipe of boiled chestnuts
The recipe for boiled chestnuts is simple. First of all, at the time of purchase, it is necessary to check that the raw material is of good quality. During storage and storage, chestnuts lose up to 1% of their weight in a day; to the touch, they must therefore be turgid and full, without empty spaces. Furthermore, check that there are no mold residues, insect holes or larvae.
Chosen chestnuts, they should be washed in running water; during this phase, if some float, they must be eliminated. They are then immersed in a pan with plenty of cold water, possibly flavored to taste.
Light the fire and, from the moment of boiling, estimate a cooking time of 20 'for very small chestnuts, 30-40' for medium chestnuts and> 40 'for large ones. Therefore, drain and wrap them in a clean cloth and "squeeze" (to facilitate the subsequent peeling phase). Still warm, peel them, depriving them of both the smooth external coating and the hairy inner lining. If the chestnuts do not peel properly, use a paring knife.
Note : chestnuts that do not peel properly are not properly stored, have not been cooked sufficiently or have not been wrapped in a rag and squeezed.
