chestnuts

[mmmfood]

Does anyone know of a raw way to prepare these so I don't eat the cooked ones when they will be all around me in a few weeks (my family loves these and always has them around.) Do they sprout? Should I just take off the shell and soak them? Would they even be edible../? Ok thanks raw pplz.

[Raene]

I was drooling on them today and thought I remembered you couldn't eat em raw, but maybe (hopefully) I'm wrong...

[jacsam]

Where we used to live many people had these trees and the kids always just had fun throwing them. Then my oldest son went to Switzerland and said that they really love them over there.....until then he didn't know that people even ate them.....he was amazed at how much they cost to get a small bag of roasted chestnuts and he used to just throw them around and play with them. Sorry, as far as raw ideas.....I have no clue.

[wiste]

Chestnuts must be boiled or roasted before eating due to the high levels of tannic acid to avoid digestive discomfort.

[TaupeRawMan]

I have peeled and eaten these before no problem. They are high in carbohydrates and somewhat resemble grains in their B vitamins. I only had them a few times. I soaked them and then ground them in the processor with dates.

[Lady Green Jeans]

We used to eat them raw when I was a child. Right from the tree, peeled of the prickly shell and cut open. Maybe we had stomachs of iron. I also used to climb the fence and pinch a bunch of sour green apples which never gave me any stomach issues.

[wiste]

We used to eat them raw when I was a child. Right from the tree, peeled of the prickly shell and cut open.
I grew up eating nuts, berries, persimmons, mushrooms etc. picked from the wild. However, I only ate the things which were pointed out as edible. Did someone tell you that the nuts were O.K. to eat or were just that adventurous?

[Lady Green Jeans]

I was in a Blue Bird group and we were at someone's house with a large back yard. The father of one of the girls opened one and ate it. We all joined in.
I remember them being somewhat starchy but also sweet. That was over 40 years ago back in Ohio. Wow! Time sure flies. They may have been the American chestnut--not sure if the blight happened before or after this timeframe.

Have always been curious about edible plants, etc. Remember wondering why we couldn't eat acorns or buckeyes, but was told not to as they were poisonous, so didn't ever attempt. Did forage in the neighborhood (mostly with the landowners blessings)--remember enjoying green apples, black raspberries, mullberries, quince, sour cherries, prune plums, black cherries, pears, and harvesting black walnuts (leaving us all with terribly stained hands for weeks) and the chestnuts. Other nut trees were in some of the parks and you could gather them if you wanted. Some we called pig nuts, not sure what kind they were, though--maybe beechnuts.

Sorry for the long post--was fun going down memory lane. Had a nice upbringing in a nice area/time.