It is chestnut season, and my brothers and I were taught to be passionate consumers of chestnuts by virtue of having a father who was a passionate consumer of chestnuts. I remember that several decades ago, I told my younger brother that one of the best things about moving out on my own was that I didn’t have to share any more batches of chestnuts with my brothers.
Last year, I discovered that there are still American chestnut growers, though they are few and far between. There are a couple in Maryland and Virginia. But there are also vendors online who will ship them to me for prices not very much higher than what I pay in the supermarket for old, moldy, wormy chestnuts imported from Italy. I picked up a few pounds of the last of the crop at the end of the season (post-Thanksgiving) last year. I had the brochure on my fridge since last year. But it got put somewhere in the move, and I forgot that I could get chestnuts a lot earlier through my farm in Washington than in the supermarket. Sunday, I remembered.
Today, my five pounds of fresh chestnuts arrived.
They won’t last long. My mother is coming to visit, and I plan on sending a pound or two home with her for my brothers. But I may stop at that farm in Maryland on the way to NJ for the holiday. Or maybe just order from there. I’m going to compare and contrast, and have a vegetable crisper filled with fresh chestnuts for the rest of the season, if I can help it.
It’s an acquired taste, but once you’ve acquired it, chestnuts are one of the most delicious foods in existence. And may I say: Yum.
Good for ya, too, and low in fat (on the relative scale of nuts).
Reminds me of when I lived in Chicago, Meryl. The Chicago Chess Club used to meet in the lobby of the Palmer House Hotel, but the manager had them leave after their most dedicated players were disturbing guests by their loud bragging about their talents and achiements. He told the newspaper, “I’d had it with those chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.”
D*** it, Alex I was about to post that joke.
The tree is very beautiful as well. If you have the space (it’s large) it should definitely be a feature of any garden.
There are new disease-resistant varieties available – crosses between American and Chinese varieties.
Hey Meryl!!! Lemme know when you take the road trip to Joizey maybe we can catch a meal.
I think we’d do better on the way home, Jay. I never have enough time on the way to T-Day dinner.
That’s OK, Soccerdad. Feel free to give a typical Jewish reaction: “It’s an old joke. You told it wrong. I have a better version.”
Meanwhile, a friend in Israel sent me this one:
A man is driving on the Tel Aviv-Haifa highway when he runs into a massive traffic jam. He gets out of his car to see what’s going on and sees a guy coming down the rows of cars.
He asks the guy what’s happening and the guy tells him, “Terrorists have kidnapped the heads of all the political parties.They say if we don’t come up with a hundred million dollar ransom they’ll pour gasoline over them and light them on fire. I’m taking contributions.”
The man asks, “What are most people giving?” and the guy replies, “About a gallon.”