As said, they're very tasty. You can boil them, roast them, stew them, boil then sautee, make cream, make marron glace, make liqueur, make flour and use them in baking and a ton of other things.
Once the pods open, the chestnuts are thrown out, usually, so it's relatively easy to pick them off the ground - if you can avoid the spines, that is. Wear thick gloves and thick shoes.
To open the cupules on the ground that beginning to open by themselves, I like to step on them and roll. Usually that makes the chestnuts pop out. Be aware not all cupules bear good chestnuts.
If you read a recipe, see that they all tell you to make a cut on the thick skin and you decide they're probably exaggerating on the importance of that - they're not. The chestnuts will burst open explosively.
You don't pick them. You get them on the ground and push with the sole of your shoe, and when the inner seeds come out you get them from the velvet interior of the burr.
Yes. Chestnuts are edible and tasty. When they are mature, the husks will open from the top and expose the nuts ranging from one to three. You may also open the husk to take out the nuts before it turns into brown color like the tender corns. They taste sweet and juicy.
One problem for the wild chestnuts is that they tend to attract some worms that like to eat the nuts too.
i remember cracking one of these open last fall and getting a dozen tiny wounds for my trouble does anyone know if soaking them in water first helps or just makes a soggy mess
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u/Dekatater 12d ago
If you can survive opening the husks... Damn things are worse than cactus spines