5 Chestnut Recipes From The Past

We used to eat a lot more chestnuts than we do today, however if you already have a chestnut tree growing on your property or know someone who does, now is as good a time as any to discover the rich flavor the nuts have to offer.

Below are five recipes printed up in newspapers from over a hundred years ago.

Christmas Chestnut Stuffing From 1919

  • 20 French chestnuts or 1 pint American chestnuts
  • 2 cups stale bread crumbs
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 Tablespoon minced parsley
  • 1-1/2 Tablespoon minced onion
  • Hot water to make stick

Shell chestnuts and boil ten minutes. Cut in pieces. Mix all ingredients. [1]

Pork With Chestnuts From 1914

Melt butter in a pan and put in a roasting piece of pork with a little onion. Brown well and add some bouillon. Cook over a moderate fire and when the meat is almost done add the roasted chestnuts without their shells. Then finish the cooking and serve the pork with chestnuts arranged around it. [2]

Chestnut Soup From 1912

This is a French recipe, and if anyone knows about the chestnut it is a Frenchman. It is considered an essential of diet in some form or other in his native country just as we use the potato and the oriental uses rice. Moreover, it is a soup that lends itself well to the Thanksgiving season. It requires a quart of chestnuts, and these must boil for an hour in one and a half quarts of bouillon until somewhat reduce in quantity. Have some previously cooked carrots and turnips diced and add to the soup before serving with a few cooked asparagus tips (the canned will do). Also force through a sieve a little white chicken meat and you have a fine thing. The chestnuts may be shelled and blanched for this puree very easily if an incision is made in the shell and they are allowed to boil for a minute and are then put in the oven in a greased pan for about seven minutes. Chestnuts are richer in food value than either potatoes or rice, which also should be remembered. [3]

Chestnut Croquettes From 1913

Boil a quart of chestnuts, remove the shells and skins, and put the nuts through a colander or vegetable press. Work to a paste with a teaspoon of butter, a few drops of onion juice, two tablespoons of fine crumbs, the yolk of an egg, a dash of paprika, and salt to taste. Make the whole mixture hot in a double boiler; when cold, form into croquettes. Let stand two hours in the refrigerator and then fry in deep fat. [4]

Chestnut Sauce For Turkey From 1901

Chestnut stuffing we are familiar with, but here is an English recipe for chestnut sauce which can be warranted delicious.

The ingredients called for are half a pint of veal stock, half a pound of chestnuts, the peel of half a lemon, a cupful of cream or milk and just a suggestion of cayenne pepper and salt.

Remove the dark shell from the chestnuts and scald them, after which the fine inner skin can be easily rubbed off. Put them into the stock with the lemon peel cut thin and the seasoning. Simmer until the chestnuts become soft, then press through a sieve, add the milk or cream, and simmer for a few minutes, stirring all the time and taking care that the mixture does not boil. It is then ready to add zest to your turkey. [5]

Author: StrangeAgo