In the past, when food was scarce, tasty chestnuts were considered the best snack. Even today, they are often considered a representative snack during the fall and winter seasons. Chestnuts, which can be enjoyed for their rich sweetness when eaten in season, are rich in various vitamins, including Vitamin C, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and other essential nutrients. Especially from early September to October, new-season chestnuts start to hit the market. How about making a sweet snack with chestnut this fall?
The Fall and Winter Representative Snack, Chestnuts
Chestnuts harvested in the fall are a handy snack throughout the winter. They are delicious whether boiled, roasted, or eaten raw, and their versatility means they can be added to rice made into chestnut rice cakes, chestnut bread, and more. In Europe, chestnuts are often candied and enjoyed as a dessert.
Boiling is the Best
Chestnuts can be eaten raw, roasted, steamed, or boiled, but the best way to eat them for immune system enhancement is to steam them. If we look at the vitamin content per 100g of chestnuts, raw chestnuts contain 12mg, roasted chestnuts contain 24mg, and steamed chestnuts contain 61mg, showing that steamed chestnuts contain over 5 times the vitamin content of raw chestnuts.
The Correct Way to Boil Chestnuts
After washing the chestnuts clean, soak them in salt water for 1-2 hours. Rinse the soaked chestnuts one more time and put them in a pot with just enough water to not cover them. Cover the pot and boil on high heat. Once the water boils, reduce the heat to medium and boil for another 15 minutes. After that, allow it to steam for 5 minutes. After boiling the chestnuts for about 20 minutes, open the lid and let out the steam, and you’re done.
Prevents Motion Sickness
Did you know that eating chestnuts can help prevent motion sickness? At such times, chewing hard raw chestnuts, not steamed ones, can help alleviate symptoms such as dizziness and vomiting caused by motion sickness. However, those with weak stomachs should chew slowly and thoroughly to avoid putting strain on the stomach.
Improves Cardiovascular Diseases
The abundant linolenic acid in chestnuts is very helpful in improving cardiovascular diseases. This component not only lowers the levels of neutral fats but also improves blood flow, lowering cholesterol levels in blood vessels and showing excellent effects in improving cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and myocardial infarction.
Also Good for Eye Health
Vitamin A in chestnuts is also good for eye health. Vitamin A relieves eye fatigue and improves vision, benefiting eye health and helping to prevent and improve eye diseases such as cataracts and night blindness. It is also good for weakening vision due to aging and the eye health of students studying for exams.
How to Choose Delicious Chestnuts
Domestic chestnuts are best when they have thick and large nuts. The surface should be shiny and round, and when held in the hand, they should feel solid and heavy, and the shell should be clean. Also, there should be no holes, and they should not float well when put in water.
Simple Microwave Rice Porridge Making
What if you could make the seemingly complicated rice porridge in a microwave? It’s not as difficult as you think. Prepare the sauce in advance using soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, sesame oil, and garlic powder. Soak the glutinous rice in advance and cut the chestnuts, walnuts, and jujubes into bite-sized pieces. Pour the glutinous rice into a container, add lukewarm water, cover with a lid or wrap, and microwave for about 10 minutes. Then mix in the cut chestnuts and microwave for an additional 10 minutes. After letting it cool slightly, add the sauce, walnuts, jujubes, and pine nuts and mix well. Finally, microwave for another 10 minutes, and your simple microwave rice porridge is ready.
Want to Increase the Sweetness of Chestnuts?
Chestnuts become more delicious and sweeter the more they go through the ripening process. New-season chestnuts may have lower sweetness because they have not gone through ripening. After purchasing chestnuts, soak them in water for 3-4 hours and pick out rotten or damaged chestnuts. Then, put the chestnuts, which have had their moisture removed, into a sealed container lined with a kitchen towel, cover the top with another kitchen towel, and close the lid. Suppose you store them in the refrigerator’s fresh food compartment or a kimchi refrigerator for a minimum of 2 weeks to a maximum of 8 weeks. In that case, they will become delicious chestnuts with the highest sugar content.
How to Store Chestnut for a Long Time
Remove any foreign substances on the surface of the chestnut and rinse them with water. Then, soak them in salt water for about an hour until they taste salty. If there are any floating chestnuts during this process, remove them and rinse the salt off with clean water. Then, dry them in a shady place. After that, put them in a ziplock or plastic bag and store them in the refrigerator. To prevent moisture, make holes in the bag or wrap them in a kitchen towel for storage.
By. Shin Young Jeon (press@daily.co.kr)
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