A matter of taste: how to cook chestnuts

In nature, there are two varieties of chestnuts - horse chestnut, which is common in our strip, and noble, or, as it is also called, sweet. The first species is not suitable for food, it is used only in medicine, but the second one is a very common dish in Europe. In some European countries there is a tradition to bake them on the street for Christmas. The birthplace of the sweet chestnut is the Balkan Peninsula. In France, even there is a national holiday dedicated to your favorite fruits. I must say that chestnuts are very popular all over the world. In Japan, for example, they are cooked with rice and chicken and served as a snack for beer. Cheese in Switzerland is very popular chestnut puree with milk. It is believed that this dish prevents the development of varicose veins. Another popular European recipe is a turkey stuffed with chestnuts, which is added to sausage, bread, and herbs.

During the European campaigns of Alexander the Great, the fruits of this tree even saved the life of the retreating soldiers, preventing them from starving to death. Therefore, the Greeks, when settled on the shores of the Black Sea, planted, in the first place, grapes and chestnuts. By themselves these nuts are very useful - they contain zinc, starch, sugar, potassium, iron, zinc, folic acid and other substances useful for our body. In addition, they are used as a remedy for healing wounds and burns.

In our country, chestnuts are not the most common dish, because in our band they just do not grow. However, in supermarkets you can find them all the same. In this article we will tell you how to prepare chestnuts. There are several ways. You can both boil the chestnuts and bake them at Oven or microwave . Cooked fruits can act as a dish of their own, and as an additive to bread, plov, meat, flour desserts. To prepare chestnuts in the oven, you must first cut their tip, because otherwise they will explode. Then put them in the oven for 15 minutes. Baked nuts, peeled from the shell, are served on a napkin.

But there are other options, how to prepare chestnuts. To use them as an additive to dishes, they must be cleaned. For this, you need to throw them into boiling water for a few minutes, after making cuts on the peel. Plenochki of fruits should be removed, because they have a bitter taste and can spoil the dish.

But how to cook chestnuts boiled: you need to peel the nuts, place them in cold water and cook for about half an hour after boiling to make them soft. Then the water should be drained and placed in a warm place for about 10 minutes. Serve this dish with butter.

There is another way how to prepare chestnuts in a microwave oven. To do this, they must be washed, made, as in previous cases, cuts on the peel, put in a bowl with salt water and put in the oven. The bowl should be covered with a film pierced in several places. The liquid should cover the nuts by about a third. Cook them need about seven minutes.

We hope that these tips will help you to diversify your menu, and the aroma of cooked chestnuts will take you to the cozy streets of Paris, wrapped in the scent of autumn, burnt leaves, and will fill your home with the comfort and romance of this wonderful city