types of chestnuts

How many varieties of chestnuts are there?

There are four different varieties of edible chestnuts: American, European, Chinese and Japanese. The chestnut tree is related to the beech and the oak tree. Chestnuts used to be the main starch staple in Europe until the potato was introduced.

What type of chestnut can you eat?

Edible chestnuts belong to the genus Castanea and are enclosed in sharp, spine-covered burs. The toxic, inedible horse chestnuts have a fleshy, bumpy husk with a wart-covered appearance. Both horse chestnut and edible chestnuts produce a brown nut, but edible chestnuts always have a tassel or point on the nut.

What is the difference between American chestnut and Chinese chestnut?

American chestnut leaves are generally long and slender with a “V” at the leaf base. Chinese chestnuts have a wider leaf and they are often shiny. Chinese chestnut leaves have a “U” shape at the leaf base. Most striking are the hairs on the under-surface of Chinese chestnut leaves.

What happens if you eat a horse chestnut?

Raw horse chestnut seed, bark, flower, and leaf are UNSAFE and can even cause death when taken by mouth by adults or children. Signs of poisoning include stomach upset, kidney problems, muscle twitching, weakness, loss of coordination, vomiting, diarrhea, depression, paralysis, and stupor.

Are chestnuts healthy?

Chestnuts remain a good source of antioxidants, even after cooking. They're rich in gallic acid and ellagic acid—two antioxidants that increase in concentration when cooked. Antioxidants and minerals like magnesium and potassium help reduce your risk of cardiovascular issues, such as heart disease or stroke.

Do squirrels eat chestnuts?

Nuts. Squirrels are absolutely fanatical about nuts. ... Squirrels enthusiastically collect and eat pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, acorns, cashews, chestnuts, hickory nuts, pine nuts out of pine cones, and macadamia nuts.

Are chestnuts poisonous to dogs?

Yes, dogs can eat sweet chestnuts. Horse chestnuts are toxic to both humans and dogs, but sweet chestnuts are safe for both. Make sure to cook them properly before serving.

Are Dunstan Chestnuts edible?

Dunstan Chestnuts produce very heavy crops of large, sweet nuts every year. The nuts are huge - 15 to 30 nuts/lb - and are never bland or bitter. They peel easily, too. ... For a great shade tree that bears delicious edible nuts and doesn't even bat an eye at disease, you can't go wrong with The Dunstan Chestnut.

Are raw chestnuts poisonous?

Eat your raw chestnut.

American chestnuts have high concentrations of tannic acid and will make you ill if you eat them raw. ... Conkers, which are a variety of chestnut grown in Europe, should be kept away from animals, as they may prove mildly poisonous.

Can you eat Chinese chestnuts?

Chinese Chestnut Uses

The inner nut, with pale golden meat, is delicious. You can use chestnuts in poultry stuffing, toss them into soups, or eat them in salads. They can also be ground into a healthy and delicious flour and used to make pancakes, muffins, or other breads.

What do Chinese chestnuts taste like?

The Chinese chestnuts, bigger and rounder than the Americans, were sweetest. The very big Colossals—often an inch and a half across—were least sweet and least nutty. They tasted starchy, like yellow sweet potatoes, and mealy.

What does a chestnut taste like?

What Do Roasted Chestnuts Taste Like? The tender meat of the chestnut has a slightly sweet flavor more like a sweet potato than another type of nut. Roasted chestnuts also are a bit spongey rather than crunchy. They are a wonderful flavor of the season that everyone should try!

Can horse chestnuts kill you?

Still, unless you down a lot of horse chestnuts, they're more likely to make you ill than kill you. Horse-chestnut poisoning is rarely fatal, according to the Web site of Canada's Nova Scotia Museum, though effects can include vomiting, loss of coordination, stupor and occasionally paralysis.

How can you tell the difference between horse chestnuts and sweet chestnuts?

Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), which has similar nuts, but those of the sweet chestnut are smaller and found in clusters. The leaves are completely different, with sweet chestnut having single, long, serrated leaves and horse chestnut having hand-shaped leaves with deeply divided lobes or 'fingers'.

Why are they called horse chestnuts?

When the tree was brought to Britain in 1616 from the Balkans, it was called horse chestnut because the Turks would feed the seeds to their ailing horses. The tree is chiefly grown nowadays for ornamental purposes, in towns and private gardens and in parks, and along streets.

Why are chestnuts expensive?

European chestnut trees also suffer from blight, but the food crop is still booming. ... Experts have used hypovirulence to narrow down blight-resistant variations in America, though they have yet to develop a seed that is 100 percent resistant. Until then, your holiday chestnuts will likely remain expensive.

Are chestnuts high in sugar?

Some nutritional facts about chestnuts

Chestnuts have certain nutritional characteristics similar to those of cereals. Even though they do not contain gluten, they do have a high content of sugars, especially starch.

Are chestnuts good for weight loss?

100g of chestnuts provides just 149 calories and, unlike other nuts, they are higher in carbohydrates containing 28g per 100g. They are also lower in protein and fat than other nuts with just 1.9g and 2.2g respectively, but nearly all the fat in chestnuts is a 'good fat' or unsaturated fat.

Can humans eat chestnuts?

Although the shell is very difficult to remove, chestnuts are edible. However, it is rare to eat them raw and can even be dangerous for certain people. Chestnuts are more traditionally eaten when roasted, especially around the holidays.

What do squirrels hate?

Scents like white pepper, black pepper, and garlic are naturally unpleasant to a squirrel. The same goes for sweet smells such as peppermint. Try spraying your plants and flowers with water and then sprinkling on pepper or peppermint oil to deter squirrels.

What food is poisonous to squirrels?

Toxic foods are poisonous to squirrels and should be completely avoided.
...
UNHEALTHY FOODS

High-sugar foods (candy, cookies, granola, sweetened breakfast cereals)
High-starch foods (pasta, bread, rice, potatoes)
Salty foods.
Human junk food.
Cashews.
Sunflower seeds.
Dried corn.
Pine nuts.