Hi Char, I'll have to give the uncooked ones a try!  They must be pretty tricky to peel???

Diana, enjoy!  Tis the season...

so weve been wanting to do this for "gosh" sence i can remember and every year the reminder is the song, we all know it. So here i am waiting for the oven to preheat and im sure with your great detail in notes and pictures the'll durn our just fine.

thanks so much brian

I knew I could count on you!  I just picked up 1/2  a bucket full from the neighbor's chestnut tree.  They are a light brown color - not as dark as the ones you got from whole foods.  How do I know when they are ready to be roasted?  Do I just leave them out on a cookie sheet to dry?  I guess I need to do a little more research with my uber fresh chestnuts... :) 

PS.  How do you know when they are done just right?

Thanks for sharing what you learned. My wife and I have a fireplace and for the first time we are going to attempt roasing chestnut. The harvest is in now and we ordered 10 pounds on the internet at $4.50 per pound. 10 pounds may seem like a lot, but we have 6 kids that have left the nest and will be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas with their families. It's quite a herd when we all get together.  ;^)

To roast them over the fire you need a metal pan with holes in the bottom and a long enough handle to prevent your hand from burning. One can buy "chestnut roasters" on the internet for about $35 and $20 for short handled ones. I searched the storage shelves of the basement and found an old thick steel strainer/steamer that is just the thing. I was hoping to find an old frying pan I could drill holes in the bottom on, but found something I only needed to put an 2 foot extention on the handle. It'll be fun.

To test if the nuts are fine for cooking, drop them into a bowl of cod water.  If they FLOAT they are rotten, do not bother to cook them

I'm so glad I found your post.  For the past few years I have tried roasting my own chestnuts, but I only yielded about 40% usable nutmeat after shelling.  I thought it was my method, but I guess (after reading your method) that it's just the nature of the beast.  Funny thing is my grandfather used to roast huge batches for the holidays and give them to us kids to shell, and I don't remember it being as difficult as it is now.  Selective memory, I guess.

Side note for the reader with the light-brown, freshly harvested chestnuts:  It's my understanding that you don't actually pick chestnuts.  They fall off the tree when they are ready and are harvested from the ground.  If they are still on the tree, they're not ready for harvest.

Hi Kathy,

I wanted to compare the price of fresh versus jar.  How many were in the jar?

Thanks!

Michelle

An easy way to cut the chestnuts it to position a strong knife over the chestnut on a towel and lightly tap a hammer on the knife. It worked great and no cut fingers!

My family have been eating them for years.  We usualy slit them, I'll have to try the X.  One thing we do that you don't is we soak them in water first. 

I'm looking for a way to roast regular nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts...) in the shell.  I forget and my cookbook doesn't have it.

I will be roasting fresh chestnuts in the fireplace tomorrow on thanksgiving. What I learned about the fresh ones is you need to store them properly in the fridge or they will grow mold. I stored my nuts in a plastic bad with holes in it and they got mold. I should have put the in the fridge in a paper bag and when they are fridge temp, then put them in the fridge in gallon plastic bags with holes for moisture to excape.

I was able to get rid of the mold by washing it off the nuts, drying them good and putting them in the fridge  in a paper bag until they reached fridge temperature. Then back in the gallon baggies with holes in the fridge.

When you want to roast nuts take them out of the fridge and put them in a bowl to cure for about 6 days before you roast them. The 6 days is to let them ripen. The starch turns into sugar. They will tase too starchy otherwise.

I just made the nuts.  I kept them in the oven a little too long.  You roast them in the same type of pan as the chestnuts on 325 dgs for about 15 mins.  you have to watch them or they will burn.  You can tell when they just start to burn by the smell. 

I love this season.  Fall and Winter are my favorite seasons.

I like them just plain without salt, etc.
They are VERY rich and creamy tasting!