chestnuts properties and recipes excellent autumn snack

Chestnuts properties and recipes!

Chestnuts: excellent snack for the autumn, are rich in properties and benefits.

Chestnuts can be ideal also for those who are on a diet if you know how to prepare them in the correct manner. In ancient times they were a common meal for the populations living on the mountains, but today they are considered almost a luxury and are also used in autumn as a post Sunday lunch, in reality they are also an excellent snack.

One hundred grams of roasted chestnuts contain about 28,3 g starch, 10.7 g sugar, about 8.3 g fibre about 2.4 g fat, and also group B vitamins, potassium, iron and calcium. The calcium has an effective a satiating effect, the potassium promotes drainage of stagnation and finally the fibres improve the intestinal function and therefore are excellent as a hunger breaking snack.

Which to choose for the diet

The roasted chestnuts provide 193 kcal, while boiled only 126 kcal per 100 g. The boiled chestnuts are similar to boiled rice, maize or boiled potatoes, with respect to which have however a higher sugar content. They are also free of gluten. Roasted chestnuts instead have a higher calorie content, hence it is necessary to reduce the quantity and although they are delicious combined with wine we must avoid it, if on diet but it is possible to replace with a glass of fresh apple juice.

When choosing the chestnuts make sure that the skin is smooth and bright in colour. Before cooking they must be immersed in cold water for a couple of hours and removing those that come afloat.

To store chestnuts there is an ancient but very functional method, we must leave them for 7 days in water, changing the water each day and eliminating the few that come afloat. At the end leave them to dry in the open and put them in an open place (balcony/yard). This way they can be kept for months, becoming gradually more dry and more flavoursome and being able to cook them a bit at a time.

To Cook the chestnuts you should make two or three incisions per chestnut, to prevent them from “exploding” whilst cooking, especially if in the oven or microwave.

What is right the quantity for not getting fat?

Chestnuts contain enough calories (100 g gives us 193 calories). In order not to get fat we can consume not more than 50g weighed with the peel and a good idea for a snack would be to add a cup of green tea or barley coffee, which increases the content of minerals of the chestnut.

Reinforcing custard recipe

The chestnuts thanks to their composition of vitamins and salts can give us back energy in a period of fatigue or after an extremely drastic diet (which I obviously do not recommend) and this custard is excellent at breakfast although it has some extra calories.

Ingredients for a custard for 4 Breakfasts:

1 litre milk,

1 vanilla pod,

4 egg yolks,

100g brown sugar

Chestnut flour

Heat one litre of milk with a vanilla pod. On the side, beat four egg yolks with 100g brown sugar by mounting the compound into a froth. Add the milk and put it on the fire. Gradually add the chestnut flour, in an amount sufficient to create a soft cream and let it thicken. Remove from the heat and put in the fridge for four hours.