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I found a chestnut in Oregon last time i was up there. my bf’s son was throwing the spiky thing at me, the little cutie and I took it from him, got the nut out and gave him back the spiky thing to throw at me some more, the darling. :) just kidding.
But i put the nut in my purse and found it when i got back to SF. I put it on my shelf there and there it is. I will peel it and eat it some day I suppose.
I have had them roasted. We would gather them from the yard and roast them over the fire in the woodstove but never ate them raw yet.
Maybe I will take it for lunch tomorrow and get a rest from sunflower seeds, lol.
Hi Branwyn & Ungrateful,
Check out the following link. It says not to eat raw chestnuts due to the tannic acid and that is why people cook them first.
http://homecooking.about.com/od/nuts/a/rawchest…
Here’s a link that tells all about tannic acid. :o) You may not want to eat too many.
http://www.phytochemicals.info/phytochemicals/t…
Thanks for the info! Good thing I didn’t eat a bowlful eh? I actually took the 2nd half of the nut and roasted it in the oven, just out of curiosity. It did get a little sweeter, but the starchiness was also more pronounced, which I didn’t like. And the weirdest part…the center of the nut was rather soft, and tasted like something I vaguely remembered but couldn’t put my finger on for a minute…then it came to me. Hard boiled eggs! The yolks mostly. Totally bizarre!
So I guess anyone that’s gone vegan but not 100% raw…if you really want to make something that tasted like hardboiled eggs….use freshly roasted chestnut centers.
I’m a lil disappointed that they’re not good for you raw though. I actually liked the taste of it raw better! I wonder though if they could occasionally be used medicinally in small quantities. (see 2nd link for what tannic acid can be used to treat)
dont know if this is much help, but i remember a while ago coming across a website where a raw-fooder said chestnuts were fine raw and chestnut flour was like a raw-fooders “bread”; so there might be some hope. I think it MIGHT have been rawfromthefarm but i dont really remember. personally, i tried them raw when i was in rome and ended up pitching them; couldnt find a way to make them palatable.
it's my understanding that only the skins contain tannic acid. They have tremendous health benefits! Taken form http://www.HealingFoodReference.com/chestnuts.html:
Chestnuts may help with*:
Bleeding (9)
Dyspepsia (12)
Whooping cough (9)
Rheumatoid arthritis (9)
Anemia (12)
Diarrhea (9)
Supports organs and systems*:
Tendons (9)
Spleen-pancreas (9)
Liver (9)
Kidneys (9)
Digestive system (12)
Nutrients found in Chestnuts*:
Molybdenum (8)
Manganese (8)
Copper (8)
Vitamin B2 (8)
Vitamin B6 (8)
Vitamin B1 (8)
Folic acid (8)
Magnesium (8,12)
Vitamin C (8,12)
Zinc (12)
Potassium (12)
Iron (12)
Notes about Chestnuts*:
Chestnut is the only member of the nut family that contains vitamin C. (8)