DESCRIPTION OF A TYPICAL PRODUCT OF THE AREA : CHESTNUTS
The chestnuts: an
energetic and tasty food of our mountains
The chestnut
(castanea sativa) comes from Asia minor and from Greece it spread in Italy
perhaps thanks to the Etruscans. The first one who spoke about chestnuts was
Varrone (first century B. C.) and probably in Rome chestnuts were not appreciated as they were considered
food for Plebeians.
Later on things changed
and chestnuts became a good alternative to other cereals: chickling (lathyrus
sativus), spelt (triticum spelta), foxtail millet (setaria italica), barley
(hordeum)) and above all wheat (triticum vulgare), even if it was not as
valid as them owing to its nutritional features. In fact chestnut lack those
vitamins from which gluten derives and as a consequence its flour cannot be used to make bread, but it is possible to mix it
with wheat flour and obtain “mixed” types of
bread with very good results..
The chestnut tree
prefers acid grounds and finds in the Appennines of Emilia
Romagna, our Region, a perfect climate to grow. The fruit is called chestnut
and it is necessary to distinguish
between “marrons” and “normal chestnuts”, a distinction based on commercial requirements.
The main feature of
marrons is their size: 70-80 fruits each kg, two fruits every husk. The flour
is rich in sugar and quite tasty. As for normal chestnuts this name is usually
given to varieties whose features do not correspond to the previous ones. There
can be three fruits each husk, they are smaller and can be cultivated even over
700-800 metres above sea levels since they can face low temperatures in a
better way than marrons.
In the past
chestnut trees provided all peole living in the mountains most of their food.
The trees were planted,grafted, pruned and cleaned.
During the years
after the second world war the number of chestnut trees in Italy was reduced,
but during these last years the old
trees were taken good care of,
some machines to pick the fruits were adopted and now this can be considered an
esteemed cultivation.
Nowadays in our
area (Tosco Emiliano Appennines) there are very old chestnut woods, often degraded and obsolete, needing
special growing techniques if the main aim is to produce chestnuts and marrons
of first quality. The new plantations are rather rare and often limited to the
reconstruction of degraded areas.
Territory defence
Because of its
botanic features and presence in hilly and montainous area, the chestnut plays
a fundamental role in land slide prevention. Besides, owing
to its wood characteristics, it is very interesting for environmental
engineering. In fact the chestnut wood is ideal in strenghtening drainage
canals, so confirming the importance of
the role played by forest workers: in this way in the Appennines coppice
forests represent an interesting trade
opportunity. Wood industry, as well as waste wood, can be successfully used as fuel for heating, as an alternative energy source.
Chestnuts: harvesting and processing
When the
fruits ripen they naturally fall on the ground, where they are
picked by hand with the help of nets and less frequently by means
of machines. It is not adviceable the
knocking down of the chestnuts, that is beating the branches with perches in
order to get the fruits to fall, as the
unripe fruits are not of good quality.
Moreover the injuries caused to the trees can favour dangerous infections. It
is adviseable to pick up the fruits every day to avoid their being colonized
by pathogenic agents.
The transport of
the product, in cases or sacks, should take place within 24 hours from the
harvesting to consent the beginning of
all treatments post-harvesting as soon
as possible.
Various are the
kinds of chestnuts, here are pictures of some types growing in our mountains:
When in the ‘80s a
new interest in chestnuts cultivation took place a consequence was the interest
in something that seemed destined to disappear: the drier. It is usually a small structure having two
levels, which was used to dry the chestnuts by means of fire, known in Tuscany with the name of “metato”
while in our area it is called “caniccio”. In the past, in
october-november, the caniccio became a
meeting place for young and old people as it was necessary to look after the
fire, that remained always lit all day long and also at night. It gave people
the opportunity to gather in a warm place, eat roast chestnuts and drink the
new wine.
The recovery of
these driers has become necessary above
all in the cultivations that produce chestnuts of less precious quality, and
which are usually dried, while marroni
are eaten fresh.
The drying process is indispensable to turn the fruits into flour, a product that
sells very well and can be preserved
for a long time. The temperature of the drier must be not less than 25° C and
not more than 45° C. The period the chestnuts normally remain in the caniccio depends on the
thickness of the fruit layers, and varies from 30 to 35 days.
The fire is fed by
means of chestnuts wood and the
husks of the previous year. During these days the fruits lose 2/3 of
their weight. After 20-25 days the layer is turned over and then beaten to
abolish the external and internal peels.
The dry chestnuts
are then put in sacks and later taken
to the mills to produce the flour.
Nowadays there is
the possibility to dry these fruits using
quicker and more modern methods. In
not more than 10 days. All this is more
expensive because of the machines employed and the result is of inferior quality.
Fortunately lots of people in this area go on picking and drying chestnuts in
the traditional old way.
Future
perspectives and promotional
actions.
Innovation capacity and activity signals
suggest that this sector can develop further. Bologna Province, by means of a
very detailed financial program,
support the farms involved in chestnuts treatment aimed at
consolidating production and environmental protection. Also the
Rural development Program provides aids granted for chestnuts routinary treatment and management, even for
small woods.
SOME OF OUR RECIPES WITH CHESTNUTS
Frujade
The chestnuts must
be slitted, that is cut by means of a
knife, so that they do not burst while cooking. Then they are cooked in a pan
with holes and a very long handle on
the fire of the fireplace, turning them to prevent the fruits from
being burnt. After about a quarter of
an hour they must be wrapped in a wet cloth for some minutes, in order to peel
them easily.
It was tradition to
drink “frujade” and “vinella”, a kind of light wine obtained from the must of the wine
that has boiled for a long time
with the addition of water and some
grapes. This “vinella” was drunk during
the cold months instead of wine.
Balotti
The best chestnuts
for this recipe are called “Pastanesi”.
They are boiled in water for about an hour and
must be eaten hot.
Castagnaccio
Ingredients (4 people): 400 g chestnut flour; 3 tbsp sugar; 2 tbsp
raisins; 2 tbsp pine seeds; some rosemary; olive oil; salt.
Put the raisin in warm water, pour the chestnut flour in a bowl with 4 tbsp of olive oil, the sugar and some salt. Mix
everything then add, stirring with a spoon, 900 cl of cold water. Grease
a cake tin with butter (24 cm wide), put some grated bread and
pour in the batter obtained before. Put
some rosemary leaves on the surface, the pine seeds, the raisins and two tbsp of olive oil. Put the cake in the pre-heated oven
(200° C) and leave for 50 minutes. Eat warm or cold.
Mont Blanc
Ingredients (4-5 people): 2
cups/400 g candied chestnuts (marrons glacés); 3 tbsp dark rhum; 1 + ¼ cups/310 ml heavy/double cream.
Place the candied
chestnuts in a bowl, sprinkle with the
rhum and let soak for 30 minutes. Put the
rhum-soaked candied
chestnuts in a large bowl and use a potato masher to until smooth (or
chop in a food processor). Shape the chopped candied chestnuts mound in the
centre of a serving dish, cover the
mound carefully with the cream
smoothing the surface, or leaving it uneven, as preferred. Serve at room
temperature or chill for two hours
before serving.
Rice and chestnuts pudding
Ingredients (4 people): 150 g chestnuts; 150 g rice; 50 g sugar;
50 g raisins; 1 litre milk; rhum; salt.
Take the external husk of the chestnuts away and
put them in hot salted water for
5 minutes, then take away their internal peel. Put them in a small cake tin, pour the milk and
get it to boil; cook for half
an hour. Add the sugar, the rice, the raisins, (softened in warm water
and dried) and stir with a wood
spoon. Cook for 30 minutes going on stirring. Add 50 g of butter and when it’s melted switch off the fire. Take a pudding mould,
moisten with some rhum and pour the batter obtained. Put the pudding mould in the fridge and
leave it there for some 5-6 hours. Eat cold.
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Chestnut jam
Ingredients (4
people): 1kg chestnuts, sugar, vanilla spice, 2tbsp rhum
Cook the chestnuts
in water, take their peel away and sift
them. Weight the chestnuts, weight as much sugar, mix them and cook adding a
glass of water and some vanilla spice. They must cook for 45 minutes. After this turn the fire off and add 2
tbsp of rhum. Once cold put the jam in well closed jars.
Crepès with
cream and candied chestnuts
(marrons glacès)
Ingredients ( 8 people): 1
cup/150 g chestnut flour; 1 cup/150 g plain flour; 3 eggs; 1 tbsp sugar; 3 tbsp
butter; grated zest of 1 lemon; 2 cups/250 ml double cream; 2 tbsp icing sugar; 1 cup/200g candied chestnuts pieces.
Mix both types of flour with the eggs, sugar and
melted butter. Add the milk gradually, beating
the mixture with a whisk to
prevent lumps from forming. Brush a
frying pan with oil and heat to very
hot. Pour in a small landdleful of batter, rotating the frying pan so that the mixture spread evenly. Cook the crepè on both sides without
browning. Repeat until all the batter is used. Whip the cream with the
icing sugar and mix the chopped marrons glacés in gently. Fill the
crepès with this mixture and serve sprinkled with icing sugar.
Chestnut beer
It is worthwhile mentioning also the
chestnut beer, just brewed in Granaglione, a village not far from Porretta,
because it is an exhaustive example of
how this productive activity is renewing. Its name is “Beltaine” (that means
“springtime feast”) and is linked to the Celtic roots of this village . This beer was created owing
to the need to find “something
new” and after a visit to France, where this type of beer
is already made. The taste is
delicate, the colour reddish.
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Castagnaccio and chestnut flour. |
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