It took me a while to not be intimidated by chestnuts.For years, I’d see them at the market during the holidays and think, “Those look so good,” and then walk past them because I didn’t want to deal with peeling them.  The few times I tried, I’d end up with mangled chestnuts, sore fingers, and a lot of frustration.But once I figured out this method, everything changed! With the holiday season upon us and fresh chestnuts hitting the supermarkets, I thought it would be a good time to share this easy way to prepare chestnuts for cooking.

You can use peeled chestnuts in stuffings, desserts, sticky rice dishes, and soups.  You don’t need this post until you need it, but when you do, you’ll be glad it’s here! The Key: Don’t Overcook Them Here’s the thing about learning how to prepare chestnuts for peeling: you don’t want to overcook them.  If you boil them for too long, they’ll turn mushy and fall apart when you try to remove the shells.We’re just softening them enough to make peeling manageable, not cooking them through.Why Bother Peeling Chestnuts? My neighbor has two large chestnut trees in his yard (lucky him—and us!), and he stores his chestnuts both whole and peeled in the freezer.

You definitely need whole chestnuts for roasting—there’s nothing quite like roasted chestnuts on a cold day.But peeled chestnuts have so many culinary applications.We have a braised chicken with chestnuts recipe on the blog th

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