What is the fastest way to peel chestnuts? Preserve them this way and they won't go bad!

Once autumn and winter arrive, it's time to eat chestnuts again. They can be eaten raw, boiled, or roasted, and their dense, smooth texture with a faint sweetness makes them loved by many people. They are delicious, but peeling them is a real hassle, and some folks just lose patience. So, what is the fastest way to peel chestnuts?

I. A brief introduction to chestnuts!

1. What else are chestnuts called?

Chestnuts are also called li, kuili, maoli, fengli, zhuili, and so on. They are the fruit of the chestnut plant in the Fagaceae family and have effects such as benefiting the stomach, tonifying the kidneys, calming the liver, strengthening the lower back, strengthening the tendons, and stopping bleeding. Therefore they are also called “ginseng fruit” and “kidney fruit”, and have long enjoyed the reputation of “king of dried fruits”.

2. Where do chestnuts grow?

Chestnuts originated in China, and there is a clear record of them in the “Biographies of the Money-makers” chapter of the “Records of the Grand Historian”. Today they are produced in most parts of China, generally growing in mountain areas at an altitude of 370-2800 m. Among them, Zunhua chestnut, Houyang chestnut, European chestnut, Japanese chestnut, Xinglong chestnut, and Qinglong chestnut have the highest sweetness and a soft, glutinous texture.

3. When do chestnuts ripen?

China has a vast territory and a great many chestnut varieties. Different places of origin and varieties ripen at different times, but most ripen between September and October in autumn, all of them ripen before November, and in some areas they ripen as early as mid-to-late August.

II. What is the fastest way to peel chestnuts?

Chestnuts have three layers of skin. The outermost layer is very thick and covered with long sharp spines; the middle layer is a dark brown hard shell; and the innermost layer is very thin, brown when ripe and milky white when unripe.

1. How do you remove the outermost layer?

The outermost layer of the chestnut is very thick and covered with long sharp spines. Generally speaking, fully ripe chestnuts split open on their own and the nuts pop out of the husk. For those that are almost ripe, you need to shake the chestnut tree with a bamboo pole or by hand so the nuts fall down on their own. For those that are not yet ripe, you need to pound the spiny husk with a small hammer, or step and roll on them a few times, and the nuts will come out.

2. How do you remove the middle layer?

The middle layer of the chestnut is that dark brown hard shell, which we call the outer shell. It is very hard to peel off by hand. If the chestnuts are raw, you can cut a small slit with a knife or cut them in half, then peel the shell off by hand; you can also bite open a slit or bite them in half, then peel the shell off by hand. If the chestnuts are already roasted, the shell is a bit scorched, and you can press it with your thumb to open a slit, then peel the shell off by hand.

3. How do you remove the innermost layer?

The innermost layer of the chestnut is that thin skin, sometimes brown and sometimes milky white, which we call the inner skin. It is a bit hard to peel off by hand. The outer shell and the inner skin are usually removed together. The peeling methods are as follows:

(1) Boiling method: Use a knife to cut a small slit in the middle of the washed chestnuts, then put them in salt water and boil them on the stove for 5 minutes. While they are hot, you can remove the outer shell and inner skin; or cut the chestnuts open with a knife, remove the outer shell, put them in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, then soak them in cold water for 3-5 minutes, and the inner skin can be peeled off.

(2) Soaking method: Wash the chestnuts, put them in boiling salt water for 5 minutes, then cut a slit with a knife and, while they are hot, remove the outer shell and inner skin; or cut the chestnuts in half, remove the outer shell, then cover them with boiling water and soak for 5 minutes, and the inner skin can be removed.

(3) Freezing method: Let the boiled chestnuts cool, then put them in the refrigerator to freeze for two hours, and the outer shell and inner skin can be peeled off.

(4) Heating method: Cut a slit in the washed chestnuts with a knife, remove the outer shell, then put them in a rice cooker, pressure cooker, or microwave without adding water. For the rice cooker, just press the cook button; for the pressure cooker, bring it up to pressure for three minutes; for the microwave, heat on high for 30 seconds. When you take them out they are cooked and you can peel off the inner skin directly.

III. How do you preserve chestnuts?

Chestnuts are somewhat difficult to preserve, because they fear dryness, water, heat, and freezing. If they are not preserved properly, they will mold and spoil. So how do you preserve them so they won't go bad?

1. If they are raw chestnuts: you can spread them out in a cool, ventilated place; you can soak them in water for 7-10 days, then take them out and hang them up high in a ventilated place to air-dry; you can store them in sand by first preparing a container and layering sand-chestnuts-sand, and so on, with sand on the last layer, spraying a little water at intervals; you can also seal them in a plastic bag and keep them in the refrigerator's cold storage compartment, and so on.

2. If they are cooked chestnuts: you can keep them in the refrigerator; you can spread them out in a ventilated place, without piling them up or sealing them; you can put them in a basket and dry them in a ventilated place for storage.

The above is an introduction to methods for peeling and preserving chestnuts. If they are cooked chestnuts, try to cook only as many as you will eat. If you cook a lot, it is best to finish them within two or three days.