Make it Bright: Chestnut Resources

Roasting chestnuts on an open fire? Impossible without a chestnut roaster. Fortunately, these old-fashioned items can be found for $10.99 at Fante’s Kitchen Ware shop (www.fantes.com; then search “Chestnut Roaster”).

How do you make the requisite pre-roasting X on the flat side of the chestnut, from which the outer shell peels back neatly post-roast? An ordinary paring knife will do, but a chestnut knife ($6.50, also at Fante’s), with its curled-at-the-tip blade, makes it much easier to get a clean cut.

A Chestnutter, $24.99, is even simpler, making a flawless X every time with a single squeeze (the perfect for gadget for those who have, and use, say, a cherry pitter or apple corer). Fante’s site also offers detailed directions for open-fire, oven-roasting and boiling chestnuts.

Now all you need are the nuts; Colossals are best for roasting. Order them for $6 a pound direct from Girolami Farms, a third-generation grower in California, www.chestnutsforsale.com

Crescent Dragonwagon is a frequent contributing writer for Relish.

Related Stories

If you enjoyed reading this story, Make it Bright: Chestnut Resources, then you might enjoy these other stories.

• Something to Sing About
• This and That December 2007
• This and That October 2007
• This and That March 2008
• This and That December 2006

Share This Story With Others:



There are no current discussions for this article. Why not be the first?

Post your comments on this article