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Why Don't Americans Eat More Chestnuts Year-Round?

As cooler weather creeps in, the smell of roasted chestnuts wafts through NYC street corners. But we used to eat chestnuts much more than this. Did we just collectively lose out taste for them? Or did a century-old ecological disaster have anything to do with it? There is a veritable "cult of the chestnut" outside of the U.S. In Japan there are even chestnut flavored Kit Kats and chestnut flavored soft serve ice cream.

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35 Comments | Posted by Lee Zalben, October 5, 2011 at 10:00 AM
Tagged: chestnuts, nuts, That's Nuts

Where's the Love for Chestnuts?

[Photograph: Lee Zalben] Here's Some Love Chestnut Torte »Chestnut, Pumpkin, and Farro »Chestnut Honey » Rome in the fall and winter is a magical place. The air is cool and crisp and everywhere you go, the air seems to be roasted-chestnut-scented. Earlier this year, I spotted a chestnut vendor in Piazza Navona, which got me thinking more about chestnuts. We don't really eat them in the U.S. a whole lot. At Thanksgiving sometimes you seem them in stuffing or dressing, or during the year, in a salad every once in a while. There are only a few roasted chestnut street vendors left in Manhattan. In France and Italy they're used in a variety of confections and baked goods, but...

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37 Comments | Posted by Lee Zalben, February 3, 2010 at 2:45 PM
Tagged: chestnuts, Italy, nuts, Rome, That's Nuts

Snapshots from Asia: Chestnuts 'Wokking' Over an Open Fire

The concept of "chestnuts roasting over an open fire" is an alien one to Asians, and the notion of buying chestnuts raw and roasting them yourself even stranger—why would anyone choose to go through all that hassle when the streets are lined year-round with hawkers frying them right before you?

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4 Comments | Posted by Wan Yan Ling, January 7, 2008 at 8:00 PM
Tagged: Asia, chestnuts, roasted chestnuts, Singapore, snacks, Snapshots from Asia