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Peeling Chestnuts


bloviatrix

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I finally gave in and bought a bunch a chestnuts. Making the "x" was easy. Peeling the damned shells is a royal pain in the ass. Now I remember why I buy these things once every 3 or 4 years. :laugh:

Does anyone have any tips for removing the inner light brown layer that has a bit of fuzz? I got the shells off, but in about 1/3 of them I couldn't get that second layer off.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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The following works for me: I start by soaking the chestnuts in cold water to soften the shells, about l hour before baking them in a preheated 450 oven. I drain the chestnuts, use a sharp knife to slit the rounded side of each chestnut, and set them them in layers in a covered pot. Bake for 35 minutes or so.

Remove the pot from the oven; keep the chestnuts covered with a thick towel until ready to peel,a bout 20 minutes. This steaming period helps to detach the inner skins. I know it is a lot to go through.

I, too, would love to learn an easier way.

“C’est dans les vieux pots, qu’on fait la bonne soupe!”, or ‘it is in old pots that good soup is made’.

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If you go to Chinatown, you might be able to find chestnuts that have been peeled of the hard outer shell - makes things much easier.

Even if you can't find them half-peeled, though, the secret to easy peeling (relatively easy) is to do it when they're hot. Yes, it burns your fingers. But it really does work for both the outer shell and the papery husk. You just need to take them from the hot water a few at a time and work as quickly as your sore little fingers will allow. If it starts to get difficult to peel, drop them back in the hot water and work on the other chestnuts.

Oops, I see that you roast your chestnuts (I boil them for use in Chinese dishes). But it works the same - they still peel better when they're hot. When I buy cooked chestnuts from the vendor (they still have street vendors selling roast chestnuts in Hong Kong) they don't peel easily when they're cool so I pop them in the oven, heat them up and both the hard shell and inner skin come off without much effort.

Edited by aprilmei (log)
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I quite literally feel your pain, remembering all-too-clearly the sharp inner shell jabbing up under my fingernails as I peeled them. I read recently that the secret is to keep them warm so they peel easier. But honestly I'll just stick to the vacuum-sealed already peeled kind in a jar, no matter how many "it's not quite the same" comments I read in cookbooks about them.

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Even if you can't find them half-peeled, though, the secret to easy peeling (relatively easy) is to do it when they're hot. Yes, it burns your fingers. But it really does work for both the outer shell and the papery husk. You just need to take them from the hot water a few at a time and work as quickly as your sore little fingers will allow. If it starts to get difficult to peel, drop them back in the hot water and work on the other chestnuts.

If I had fingerprints before this ordeal, I definitely don't have them now. :blink: (the saving grace is that my perpetually cold hands were warm for a change)

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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For the papery husks: could you blanch the chestnuts in boiling water with baking soda added? I know this works very well for hazelnuts. The last time I tried to peel chestnuts I vowed never to try again, otherwise I'd test this out myself.

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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I think it depends on how well the chestnuts were cured too, because I've had batches that were very easy to peel and ones the tortured us until we just gave up. I'm guessing it has something to do with the moisture levels in the chestnut. You need to dehydrate them slightly for long term storage, but maybe the bad ones are just too dehydrated. For eating right away, some farmers will sell them uncured, and those are a lot easier to peel. We've been playing around with Judy Roger's method, and it works much better then the X, but only if you get the cut deep enough (which seems to be tricky to judge).

regards,

trillium

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In case anyone is interested, Cost Plus World Market has the roasted and shelled chestnuts in a jar closing out at half price - I bought all they had at the Brea (Calif) store today.

This is a good buy, they keep for a long time on the shelf and are just fine to use in recipes or even eaten out of hand - I know, I have consumed quite a lot.

Check your local store.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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In case anyone is interested, Cost Plus World Market has the roasted and shelled chestnuts in a jar closing out at half price - I bought all they had at the Brea (Calif) store today.

This is a good buy, they keep for a long time on the shelf and are just fine to use in recipes or even eaten out of hand - I know, I have consumed quite a lot.

Check  your local store.

That's my source! I always wait until right after Christmas and then go stock up for the winter! :biggrin:

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Score around equator then microwave 2 min. or deep fry until skin loosens.

Deep frying is definitely a good way to go. Make your cross, fry quickly at a high temperature and you will be able to remove the outer shell pretty easily. Sometimes the inner skin will come away as well, if the inner skin remains a couple more seconds in the fryer will allow it to be removed easily.

"Why would we want Children? What do they know about food?"

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I  We've been playing around with Judy Roger's method, and it works much better then the X, but only if you get the cut deep enough (which seems to be tricky to judge).

Have you tried a chestnut knife? It makes that job easy.

,

“C’est dans les vieux pots, qu’on fait la bonne soupe!”, or ‘it is in old pots that good soup is made’.

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I mentioned chestnut knives in this thread a while back. I was surprised that so few people had heard of them. We had them when I was a child, back in the dark ages.

(40s)

I have several and find they are handy for other tasks also.

I use them for removing the ribs and seeds from very small hot peppers. They work better than a regular knife with less damage to the flesh of the pepper.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I mentioned chestnut knives in this thread a while back.

andiesenji:I'm sorry I didn't look back on the thread to check if there had been mention of chestnut knives.

I think your small hot pepper cleaning idea is brilliant. Thank you so much for the tip.

“C’est dans les vieux pots, qu’on fait la bonne soupe!”, or ‘it is in old pots that good soup is made’.

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Oh goodness, I didn't intend my mention as a criticism, other people mentioned them also. I just wanted to say how surprised I was that people hadn't known of them when I knew of them all my life, particularly when they make a tedious job so much easier.

I also use them for cutting into the rind of the odd citrus with very thick skins, such as pomelos and the odd shaped ones such as Buddah's hand, etc. Much easier to control than a regular knife.

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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