Choosing Chestnuts:

Chestnuts are available from October through March with the peak being the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.  Cooked and shelled chestnuts can be purchased and are available in sealed jars and left unopened will last up to a year. .  If chestnuts from jar are too firm when opened add water and steam them for a few minutes to soften.  Chestnut puree is sometimes found in speciality stores,  Dried chestnuts can also be found in speciality or Asian markets.    

When choosing fresh chestnuts look for the following:

• Hard and shiny shells
• They do not rattle when shaken
• Unblemished shells that are heavy for their size are optimal
• Store in refrigerator in perforated bags for up to 1 week

Roasting Chestnuts:

Roasting Chestnuts is a very simple task.  Just follow these few simple steps:

• Wipe off the nuts with a damp cloth
• Cut a X through the base of the shell
• Place nuts with the X side up in a pan
• Place pan in 450 degree oven and cook for about 20 minutes
• Remove nuts when shells have burst open and the nut meat looks golden brown
• Cool shells just long enough so that you can hold them and peel the shells

Shelling Chestnuts:

Shelling/Blanching  Chestnuts Pan/Oven Method:

• Wipe chestnuts with damp cloth
• Cut an X through shell at base
• Place nuts in skillet along with 1/2 tsp of butter per each cup of chestnuts
• Shake skillet over heat until butter is melted
• Place in cold oven and let sit for 5 minutes
• Remove from oven and remove shells with knife
• This method accomplishes both shelling and blanching as one step as skins adhere to shells

Boiling Chestnuts:

Boiling Chestnuts:

• Place chestnuts in pan and half cover with water
• Boil 20 minutes
• Empty Water from pan, leaving chestnuts in pan to dry off with the pan still over low heat (This will insure chestnuts do not crumble when peel)
• Peel and Store in tightly covered jars in refrigerator

At the beginning of the 20th century, a canker bark disease was brought in from the Orient with some Asian chestnut tree stock. The blight attacked in 1904 and over the next 50 years virtually all American chestnuts trees in the United States were destroyed. It was spread by microscopic spores carried by the wind, birds and insects. A parasite in the spores would attack the tree through fistures in the bark and the encircle the limbs and cause it to die. After that most of the chestnuts sold in America were imported from Italy. The varieties imported were larger than what was grown in the United States but not as sweet.

The chestnut has the lowest fat content of all the main edible nuts with only 4 to 5 percent fat. The chestnut is also high in carbohydrates making it more similar to cereal grains, such as wheat than to other nuts. Chestnuts are starchier than oily and easily digestible when boiled or roasted. They are also very low in calories at 1700 calories per pound where as in comparison pecans contain 3100 calories per pound.

Brazil nuts, also called cream nuts and para nuts, are large shelled seeds of the Brazil Nut tree.  It is a giant green evergreen tree indigenous to the Amazon forest of South America.    The tree may reach a height of 100 to 150 feet with a trunk diameter of four to eight feet.  The crown of the tree spreads to a width of 100 feet or more and towers over the rest of the forest.  The leaves are dark green about 12 inches long and 6 inches wide.  The flowers are pale yellow and the spherical brown fruits are four to six inches in diameter and take about fourteen months to mature.  They resemble large coconuts and weigh two to four pounds each.  Inside each of these fruits are about twenty four Brazil nuts.  Brazil nuts mostly grow in Brazil but there are also some trees in Bolivia, Peru, Columbia and Venezuela.  A mature healthy tree can produce between 250 and 500 pounds of unshelled nuts per year.

One of the earliest historical records for the Brazil Nut was  made in 1569  by Juan Alvarez Maldonado, a Spanish colonial official while exploring southeastern Peru.  Later in 1633 Dutch traders in Brazil found these wild nuts and shipped them back to the Netherlands.    The earliest shipment to the United States occurred in 1810 when a small lot was sent to New York from Brazil along with rubber, cocoa and cashews.  However, the first official United States custom entry of Brazil nuts was not recorded until 1873.

Brazil nuts are eaten raw, roasted, salted and in ice cream as well as used in baking and candy making.  Brazil nuts contain a large percentage of fat and will quickly become rancid when exposed to air and heat.  If they are properly dried and stored and kept in a cool dark place they will keep for months. 

Brazil nuts to be shelled are normally soaked in water for 24 hours and then boiled for 5 minutes to soften the shell.  The kernels are then graded and sorted.  Besides being used as a food source the shells and spoiled kernels are also used as a fuel supplement for power plants.  Their oil can also be extracted for a cooking oil and the residue left from the defatted and crushed seeds can be used to supplement animal feed.

TIPS ON SHELLING:

Cover unshelled nuts with boiling salted water and boil gently for 3 minutes.  Drain and cool and then crack and quickly remove shells.  Unshelled nuts may also be roasted.  Place in single layer on baking sheets in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  Cool, crack and shell.

BLANCHING BRAZIL NUTS;

To removed the brown skin, cover 1 pound of nuts with 1 quart of water,  Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of sodium bicarbonate and simmer for two minutes.  Remove skins while still warm.

SLICING BRAZIL NUTS:

To slice Brazil nuts cover with cold water and slowly bring to a boil.  simmer 2 to 3 minutes.  Slice nuts while still warm.

Pine nuts have a long history.   They were enjoyed by ancient Greeks and Romans and the Greeks believed the Pine nut tree was sacred to the God Neptune.  In the United States, archaelogists have found carbon dates back to Native shelters 6,000 years ago and in caves in Utah dating back 3,000 years.  Spanish explorers have recorded seeing pine nuts being ground and eaten as a meal.    Also the Hopi and the Navaho nations used pine nuts in religious ceremonies  and as protection from their enemies.  The natives also cracked them with their teeth and ate them raw or roasted or ground into a flour and mixed with cornmeal or sunflower seed and made into bread.  The pine nut kernel were also mashed and made into a tasty pine nut butter and spread on bread or made into a soup.

Pine nuts are extremely labor intensive to harvest because the seeds must be harvested from the pine cones and thus result in a high cost to purchase.

Pine Nuts may be eaten raw or roasted but are most often used an ingredients in cooking. They are blended in combinations with lamb, veal, pork, chicken, fish and are also mixed in stuffing, sauces, vegetables and even in cakes and other sweetbreads. They are also sometimes coated with chocolate and eaten as candy.

The nutritional value of Pine Nuts (per 100 gm or 3.5 ounces) follows:

• Protein            24.gm
• Carbs                14.2 gm
• Fiber                  4.5 gm
• Total Fat           50.7 gm
• Thiamine B1     0.81 mg
• Riboflavin B2  0.19mg
• Niacin B3          3.57mg
• Folate                57.3 mcg
• Vitamin E         3.5 (IU)

Pine Nuts, due their high fat content, turn rancid quickly and should be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months for they can be frozen for up to about 9 months. 

Pine nuts can be used in many dishes from savory to sweet .  They are not as crunchy as walnuts and have somewhat bitter taste.  Toasting pine nuts prior to use will decrease the bitterness.

TOASTING PINE NUTS:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Place in a single layer on a sided baking sheet
• Cook for 5 to 6 minutes watching carefully (Due to high fat content they burn easily)
• Remove when  nuts turn a golden color

Cashews are one of the most popular nuts in the world. They are eaten raw, roasted, flavored, salted and unsalted. Cashews are one of those snacks that once you have just one you want to have a few more and even more after that. So just what is it that makes these little nuts taste so great?

There are numerous varieties of cashews that one can enjoy.

Raw

Cashews that are labelled raw, in most cases are really not raw. Heat is still used to separate the cashew from its toxic shell. They are high in protein and low in carbohydrates. Raw cashews are mainly used in baking, cooking and snacking.

Roasted Cashews

Roasted cashews are gently roasted in oil and are available in salted and unsalted varieties. This is one of the most popular choices for snacking. Although all nuts have fats, cashews have less than other varieties.

Dry Roasted Cashews

Dry roasted cashews are available in salted and unsalted versions. They are roasted without added oils and are truly delicious.

Honey Roasted Cashews

Honey Roasted Cashews are gently roasted in oil and then coated with a honey covering with a touch of salt added. One of the most sold varieties of cashews on the market.

Organic

Organic cashews are available in raw form, and dry roasted in salted and unsalted varieties.  When purchasing organic nuts try to find those that are actually certified organic by recognized agencies.  This insures the nuts were grown, harvested, and processed organically.

Flavored cashews

Flavored cashews are truly a delicious treat.  They are roasted and then coated or sprinkled with various flavors that make them a snack for all seasons.  A few of the seasonings include, BBQ, Sesame Teriyaki, Thai Coconut Curry, Rm, Cinnamon and Ranch.  No matter what your taste there is a cashew to match.  Try them all and you will surely find a favorite or two.

Candy Cashews

Cashews are often covered in candy or made into candy clusters or candy brittle.  Anytime you visit your favorite candy or fudge store you will find an array of candy coated cashews.  Here are just some of the choices; chocolate, either in dark, milk chocolate or white chocolate.  There is butter toffee, caramel and a combination of ingredients such as other nuts, marshmallows, cake and hard candies.