4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Chook n Boo Mum]

is there a quick & easy way of doing this?

 

Am boiling a few for about 3 mins & peeling them as quickly as poss - which it isn't very quickly as they are such a fiddle - then repeating with another batch. I have 2 kg to peel..... Why do I do this to myself - why not stick to simple preserves? (I'm making Chestnut jam from the RC Preserves book)

 

Sha xx

[Christian]

I cut a slit into each one, put 10-15 around the edge of a plate, cover with a sheet of kitchen paper and microwave for 40-60 seconds. I find them much easier to peel then and they are semi cooked already. The paper helps contain the mess if one explodes

 

(make sure the cut is into the brown furry skin too)

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Thanks Christian, I will try that tomorrow - or the next day! My fingers are so sore tonight, having been burnt on the early chestnuts out of the boiling water & gouged by the knife on the latter ones as they had cooked slightly & the skins seem to stick back as they cool

 

Sha x

[JM]

This is useful to know!

 

Our local woods are full of lovely sweet chestnuts, so I filled my pockets with them on dog walks over the weekend! I've never done anything with them before, so has anyone got any good recipes?

 

J

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Hi JM,

 

I am doing some chestnut jam with mine today, so I'll let you know how that turns out. I think it comes out rather like chestnut chocolate spread without the chocolate if that makes any sense at all!! It's from the River Cottage Preserves book, pg 86/87 if you have access to the book.

 

Will let you all know how it turns out & whether it's worth all the hard work....

 

Sha x

[Christian]

I have millions of conkers, but no chestnuts around here

[The Spencers]

I can second Christian on the microwave method & because it's fairly quick you can do them in small batches so you get at least a chance of peeling them while they're still warm.

 

There's nothing worse than having a huge pile of chestnuts to peel once they've gone cold and the skins are sticking.

 

It's one of those labours of love each autumn. But so worth the effort! And you feel so virtuous when you've got a few kilos peeled and in the freezer.

[Guest]

The peeling puts me off too, but I do love chestnuts. A real treat in Autumn. I'm missing Kate in NZ who gave me beautiful chestnuts from her garden.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Hi All,

 

Well I personally am not overly enamoured of the chestnut jam - probably due to the fact that I don't really like cooked chestnuts anyway, much rather have crunchy raw ones! - but several people who had their fingers in the residue and have tasted it a week later, say it's food of the gods and well worth the effort!

 

As a result I am ploughing on with the second kilo of chestnuts, using the microwave method. I've found so far that the brown skins go crispy when they cool down, so they are much easier to peel - thank you Christian !

 

Sha x