Chestnuts are ripe and falling all over the ground, it is the perfect season for harvesting

About the author: One Hand Brush One Hand Flower: Landscape architecture major, has deeply loved plants and nature since childhood, hopes to always work in plant-related fields, in this world only beautiful flowers and delicious food cannot be let down, Weibo @One Hand Brush One Hand Flower

The weather has turned cold. Passing by a little stall selling sugar-roasted chestnuts, the fragrance of those chestnuts seems even more tempting. Buy a bag of piping hot chestnuts, and what you peel open is a slightly scalding warm happiness; the sweet and rich starch melts in your mouth, so satisfying.

Chestnut trees can grow enormous, not only in height but even more so in the size of their canopy. An old chestnut tree easily gives you the feeling of "blotting out the sky and covering the sun."

When I went to see the chestnut trees in spring, the green leaves were especially glossy, and the sparse serrations along the leaf edges seemed to be dancing in waves. Back then the chestnut trees had just put out their flower clusters, and now, in the blink of an eye, it is the season when the chestnuts are ripe. The fruits can no longer wait and race one another to leave the embrace of the big tree, pattering down all over the ground.

As a member of the Fagaceae family, the chestnut nut of course wears a thick "garment." This outer shell covered in sharp spines could well be called a "battle robe." "Crack!" Listening to the sound of a chestnut hitting the ground, it still carries quite some weight. If you get hit by a falling fully armed chestnut, it really does wake you up and clear your head.

As soon as the chestnut season arrives, you have to hurry to gather them, otherwise if the delicious food lies on the ground too long, the mice will beat you to it and leave you nothing but empty shells.

Besides the chestnuts that fall naturally, during harvest people also use bamboo poles to knock them down as a manual assist. Chestnuts fallen all over the ground, some not yet ripe, clearly showing upright green, prickly spines. Peel open the outer shell and the fresh yellow-white inside is revealed directly. Eating these raw is best, delicate and sweet, crisp and tasty.

The fresh tender chestnuts, their outer shells have not yet turned brown and hard

Of course most are fully ripe, the sharp spines have already turned green-yellow or brown-yellow. Natural splitting is the least trouble, and chestnuts that pop out of their "battle robe" on their own are even better. One brown nut after another, glossy and shining in the sunlight. Cup a handful in your palm, and it feels as if you can already smell the burst-open fragrance of chestnuts.

Writing about chestnuts reminds me of one I saw last year at the vegetable market that was super large. I heard it was a variety from Yunnan, and its size was comparable to a native egg.

The chestnuts are ripe and have fallen all over the ground, hurry and go gather them! Once you have gathered the chestnuts, you can start feasting. Besides the delicious sugar-roasted chestnuts, chestnuts are also great in dishes. Look at the chestnut pig's trotter stew my family made, does it make your mouth water?

Author: One Hand Brush One Hand Flower

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