Cooking Tips

Using Chestnuts in every day meals is easy…..
check out these cooking tips to make Chestnuts fit into your everyday meals.

Scoring

When baking, microwaving or roasting, firstly cut a shallow cross into the flat side of the shell, this prevents the nut from overheating and bursting while cooking. When boiling, cut the chestnuts in half across the width of the chestnut before cooking.

Roasting

Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Place prepared chestnuts onto a baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the shells split open.

Grilling or BBQing

Cut a shallow cross into the flat side of each chestnut. Place chestnuts on a tray under a moderate to hot grill or place directly on a barbecue grill. Cook for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the shells blacken and split open, turning every few minutes.

Boiling

Place prepared chestnuts into a pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the flesh is tender and easily separates from the shell.

Microwaving

Place 6 to 8 prepared chestnuts in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Cook, uncovered, on full power (850 watts or High) for 2 to 3 minutes or until the flesh is tender. Timing can vary depending on chestnut size and microwave power.

Peeling

Peel chestnuts while they are still warm because they can sometimes be a little bit tricky to peel when cooled.

Once cooked, remove chestnuts from the heat and wrap in a clean tea towel for 5 to 10 minutes and then quickly peel off the outer brown shell and remove the papery thin skin underneath. If boiled, there’s no need to wrap the chestnuts in a tea towel; simply remove the chestnuts one at a time from the water to peel.

Here are a few more links to some videos and websites if you want to research cooking chestnuts further!

ABC – The Fruit Nerd – Roasting Chestnuts – 5 mistakes to avoid!

How to roast chestnuts at home – 3 ways

SBS – Chestnut recipes and chestnut food