SWEET CHESTNUTS

Round these parts (Bedfordshire, UK) the sweet chestnuts are already ripe and shining rich brown as they pop out of quilled cases. By the way, it may seem like I’m being patronising, but do you know how to tell the difference between a Sweet Chestnut and a ‘conker’ tree (Horse Chestnut)?

(Yes, spot the hazelnut in with them and some mauled grated ginger root.)

You may scoff, but not everybody knows, as I found out when harvesting from Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa) trees in the courtyard of my university. At least 5 well-educated adults asked me

“Why are you picking conkers?!”

A helpful guide for me is: ‘Conker hedgehog, chestnut porcupine’. The sweet chestnut has more spines and they are thinner, like the quills of a porcupine.

On the left, edible sweet chestnuts. The nut has a silky white ‘tail’ and is a fat teardrop shape. On the right, inedible horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanatum) has a leathery case with fewer, shorter spines. The nut is roughly spherical with no tail and a large white ‘blotch’.

Sweet chestnuts are rich in carbohydrates, Vitamin C, and minerals. They are low in fat for a nut. They are absolutely DELICIOUS roasted in an oven or over charcoal for 20 or so minutes. Just remember to stick a fork in each one first, or they will explode with a noise like gunshots. (I terrified the life out of my housemates at uni by leaving exploding chestnuts in the oven. They ended up hiding behind the sofa).

See my earlier post on chestnut flour, chestnut gnocchi and pasta!

CONKERS/HORSE CHESTNUTS

You may not be able to eat conkers, but you can make soap out of them to wash dishes or even clothes. They contain a lot of saponins, which are natural soap. To find out how, see my earlier post on making conker soap. You can aso make a varicose vein topical cream from conkers.

Plus, yes…play with them!

BEECH NUTS

Beech ‘mast’ are the nuts that come from the Common Beech tree, Fagus sylvatica. Whilst small and fiddly to shell, they are delicious toasted, tasting like buttery popcorn. As a rough guide, beech trees will produce a good harvest once every 4 years, hence the olde saying

“Twas a beech mast yeare”

Pigs were driven into the woods in times past to feast on the beech mast. Beech nuts are rich in fat. Humans can try sprinkling toasted nuts on top of pasta, stir fries, or wild mushroom risotto. Or just sprinkle some salt and rosemary on and put them in a cone of paper to eat with your hands.

Just don’t eat them raw…the creamy coloured nut has a thin coating that is mildly poisonous. If you eat a lot of raw beech nuts you’ll get a tummy ache. This coating is easily burnt off when you toast or cook them for 5 minutes.

Enjoy this nutty autumn before the worms and squirrels get ’em.

xx Hedgewitch Kat xx