Chestnuts

Oh precious chestnut, why do you taunt me so?

Chestnut season is here and they fell to the ground by the hundreds this last week as the autumnal winds kicked up.  I gathered a large bowl full and then spent the entire next day making jam from them.  I’m not exaggerating; it took four hours to get their shells off: two hours for the first layer and another two hours for the second one.  I’ve tried just about everything to speed up this process: steaming, boiling, and even freezing the nuts to see if I can get the shells to pop off like a peanut shell, but no luck.  (Happily, peanuts are much easier to shuck, or I would have grown up eating jelly and jelly sandwiches.)  That’s before they’re boiled and ground, which is not even the final step of adding sugar and cooking the concoction.  It’s long work and by the end of the day I’m completely feed up, but it’s worth it at the breakfast table.  We’re already ¾ of a jar down from the five I made.  Christophe is hinting that I should have another go at it before the ground freezes; I’m hinting he should attack that “honey do” list I posted on the fridge.  Neither of us is budging, for the moment.  But, I’ve got an ace up my sleeve: I have just over 4 jars to wait and then we’ll see what can be negotiated.  I'm thinking....painting!

Chestnut Jam

            I make jam, lots of jam: apricot, strawberry, raspberry, quince, blackberry, red currant, black currant, and chestnut.  Yes, chestnut jam, and it’s my favorite.  It is also the most time consuming and painful jam to make.  It takes about 2 hours to make each jar, and by the end of the process, my hands are nicked and burned in several spots, but it’s worth it.

            The nuts have two shells that need to be removed separately.  The inner one clings to the nut, which is as craggily as a walnut and only come off when the nuts are boiled.  This is the step that makes anyone cringe who has ever made chestnut jam.  It’s laborious and the nuts have to be handled hot to remove the shell, hence the burned hands.  I’ve searched for any method that might work better, but I’ve come up empty handed.  The Joy of Cooking explains the nuts can be steamed in an oule or cast iron pot and then rubbed and the inner shell will just fall off.  I tried it, no luck; the shell clung as tightly as before.  I found another method that microwaved the nuts.  It worked – once, and only once.  It appears that boiling them is the only way to go.

            Once the shells are finally removed, the nuts are cooked, ground, and then added to sugar and cooked again.  If this mixture is cooked too long it crystalizes and becomes uneatable, making all the previous work for nothing.  It’s a make a break moment, so it can be somewhat stressful.

            A few years ago, I decided to make chestnut jam as Christmas presents and sent the jars back to the United States.  It was the first year I tasted chestnut jam and was so enamored with it I thought my friends and family disserved to try it.  After 12 hours of work, I had 6 jars that were wrapped and sent.  One jar broke in the mail and the others were received with reluctant hesitation.  I doubt they even eaten.

I don’t regret my attempts.  Christophe is happy; he loves chestnut jam, and if I’m lucky, we’ll have enough until Christmas.