Three Pounds of Sweet Chestnuts Foraged!

Ok so a little while ago i made a thread entitled, Make A Local Food Map. This year as always i've been out foraging and i had the best haul of chestnuts ever! Actually i could have had more but after collecting 3 lbs worth i got rather tired and it's always good to leave something for the squirrels

This thread isn't just here for me to show off though, i'm interested if anyone else has had good fortune this year or if anyone tried my local food map idea.

Well i better go dry my nuts (yes yes make your jokes) and get them ready for Christmas

[edit on 28-10-2009 by ImaginaryReality1984]

personal edit for lack of thinking!



[edit on 28-10-2009 by Doc Holiday]

Pics or it didn't happen!

Come on... get out that cellphone or camera and let's see your cache.

Many people don't even know what chestnuts look like. It might even be a great addition to add your favorite way to prepare them.

I realize your OP is more geared toward the "foraging map" angle, but nothing gets people more interested in this type of thing than a good recipe and mouth watering photos!

Lol my mobile phone doesn't have a camera, nokia 1600, the old edition And i don't have a seperate camera, so i guess just take my word for it *shrugs*.



I must admit i'm rather simple with my chestnuts, toasted and dipped in chocolate.




Well i didn't count those either, but yeah collecting on my own 3 lbs is a bounty as i only have a few local spots where sweet chestnuts grow. Still i reckon i could have collected another 5 pounds if i'd stuck at it, but i was very tired.



Well cheers, i suppose lol. I think you should star and flag this thread as an apology for offending my humble efforts!

[edit on 28-10-2009 by ImaginaryReality1984]

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984

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Why do you dry your chestnuts?
Is this a custom where you live?
I am asking because I have always eaten them "fresh", I mean roasted immediately (days) after being picked/bought.

It is true however that it is possible to make meal (like a "flour") out of them and use it for all sorts of goodies.

Chestnuts are delicious. And very healthy!



ADDED (A LINK ABOUT CHESTNUT FLOUR):

www.practicallyedible.com...







[edit on 28-10-2009 by Ethereal Gargoyle]

S+F

Ty for posting this I never meant to sound harsh nor did I mean to make 3lbs sound bad...
TY again!

reply to post by Ethereal Gargoyle

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When i say dry i don't mean so dry the shells crack, i just mean dry enough to store for a few months. I don't put them in the oven or anything like that, just put them in a warmish location for a few days before storing. It stops them going moudly.

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984

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Are you going to make a "flour" out of them? It may be a good idea because you can add it to other types of flour, so it lasts you much longer. (But even then it doesn't last indefinitely. I mean, the flavor fades after a certain amount of time.)
I was asking about drying because I never heard of anyone drying them, except for making the meal (flour).

Oh, and about "flatulence (mentioned in the article)....
If you eat a bit of Kombu seaweed before or after eating chestnuts, or anything that gives you gas, you'll never have *any*. I mean, zero flatulence. I know it's not "local", but it's really worth having at all times. IT is one of the healthiest foods around.







[edit on 28-10-2009 by Ethereal Gargoyle]

Chestnut flour makes lovely bread.
My grangmother used to make it all the time, but the thought of it reminds me of family Christmasses when I was a child.

reply to post by Squat4Life

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Yes, it's delicious! And chestnut muffins!
My favorite, though, is chestnut ice cream... Mmm.

Well at least we know were to point the finger when the squirrels go extinct.
No sorry for that it was nuts

THANKYOU

Nope i'm not making flour although i suppose i could. Nope instead i share these amount amongst family and friends and the local pub landlord is a good friend and lets me trade stuff for beer lol.

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984

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A friend did this- read books on what the Native Americans- Potawatami, Ojibaws and Ottawa did, how did they ATE, sheltered, etc. ( before the conquest) People ate huges quantities of nuts for protein. Also the three sisters, ie squash, corn and green bean ( planted and grown together as a single plant or summer long vegetable garden) Conclusion: this is the native, easier- to- get food. I will check out the local food map. ( new)

Also, of-course, fish (many lakes) and deer in Michigan.

reply to post by TheRedneck

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Oh we grow food as well but exploiting natural resources just means we get extra land area for free without having to look after it I have tons of jam from this year, made with wild fruit, some dried stuff, some seriously powerful horseradish, i made lots of fresh salads and dishes with wild garlic and generally harvesting wild food saves a ton of money whilst giving great flavour.

I wish we could grow more but there is limited room so i resort to the wild crops

Oh and i have sent my brother to carry on collecting the sweet chesnuts, i got 3 lbs, he will no doubt get another 5 at least.

I love living as cheaply as possible--renting a house, shared among the largest comfortable number of people possible, foraging/dumpster diving, sharing responsibilities and whatnot. But what motivates me the most to want to own land is the idea of getting to plant a garden in place of my lawn, and picking fruits and veggies from the ground rather than mowing my grass.

Considering that native chestnut trees have all been blighted I can only assume that you are collecting chinese chestnuts which are not native and tend to only be found around homes and suburban areas. Chestunts were once the staple crop of eastern woodland tribes like the cherokee. People fed their hogs off the droppped chestnuts in the forests which stretched from the atlantic to the mississippi river. It is estimated that one third of all the forest trees were chestnuts. It was also the preferred wood to build cabins with since it was large, easy to work and didn't decay or get eaten into by insects. The chestnut blight was the singular greatest ecological disaster to hit the United States.

I have an alternative suggestion to mapping wild foods - learn the plants then you can find food anywhere you are. there are so many wild edible plants that if you can learn just a few dozen you can find food anywhere at anytime (even the dead of winter). The best reason I can see for mapping is to show where root plants might be found which can be difficult to ascertain after the stalks have died back.

reply to post by Asktheanimals

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Well i'm in England so i guess we don't have as big a problem with blight as you do

As for the map, well you don't know where a berry bush is until you find it. Knowing the plants won't help you actually locate the bush, you are relying on luck a lot of the time to come across one. So a map of local wild foods is very helpful. I know all of the plants on the map by sight and i can easily walk through the woods and find various edible and medicinal plants. However a map saves time and energy.

[edit on 30-10-2009 by ImaginaryReality1984]