Chestnuts roasted over the fire are a delicacy that should not be missed when visiting the Christmas market. Chestnuts also go well with many savory or sweet winter dishes. By boiling, you can store the fruit, which only lasts for a limited time fresh, for a whole year.
How can you preserve chestnuts?
To successfully preserve chestnuts, you need sterilized preserving jars and a preserving pot or oven. Prepare the peeled sweet chestnuts and decide between sweet or neutral preserving. For sweet preserving, use sugar and lemon juice, for neutral preserving, just use water.
Users needed
The most important thing when preserving is the jars, which must be sterilized in boiling water for 10 minutes beforehand. Can be used:
- Twist-off jars with intact seal,
- Preserving jars with glass lids, rubber ring and metal clip,
- Jars in which the lid with a rubber ring is connected directly to the jar with a metal bracket. However, these have the disadvantage that you cannot check whether a vacuum has actually formed.
You can cook chestnuts the classic way in a preserving pot or in the oven.
Preparing chestnuts
- Wash the chestnuts thoroughly with the peel on.
- Using chestnut tongs or a sharp knife, make cross-shaped cuts on the curved side.
- Make sure that the hairy membrane is also scratched, otherwise it will not come away from the pulp later.
- Pour water into a pot and cook the chestnuts for 6 minutes until bubbling.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220 degrees and place the wet chestnuts on a baking tray.
- Bake at 220 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Shake occasionally and sprinkle with water.
- Let cool and peel.
Sweet preserved chestnuts
Ingredients:
- 1 kg chestnuts
- 125 ml water
- 2 lemons
- 750 g sugar
Preparation:
- Squeeze the lemons and add the juice to the water.
- Bring to the boil and blanch the chestnuts briefly.
- Remove the chestnuts with a slotted spoon and let the sugar trickle into the water.
- Bring to the boil while stirring until all crystals have dissolved.
- Fill the chestnut jars and pour the syrup over them.
- Place on the rack of the preserving pot and cook for 30 minutes at 100 degrees.
Neutrally preserved chestnuts
Pour the prepared chestnuts into jars and add two tablespoons of water. Close tightly and soak at high temperature for 1.5 hours.
Tip
To check the freshness of the sweet chestnuts, place them in lukewarm water. If the fruit sinks to the ground, it is of good quality and worm-free. However, if it rises, you should no longer use the chestnut.
