Typical of the autumn season, with an unmistakable sweet flavor and endowed with interesting properties, chestnuts prove to be an excellent ally of the nervous system, in fact they help to counteract anxiety and stress but are also recommended in cases of anemia. Let’s find out everything there is to know about chestnuts, including contraindications.
From the Castanea sativa, tree that grows spontaneously in parks and woods, chestnuts are born to be collected and enjoyed in many ways (below we point out different ways to cook them and savory and sweet recipes).
These are fruits which, in the wild, can be of various shapes, sizes and shades of colour. The so-called brownhowever, they come from cultivated trees and for this reason they are larger and more precise than wild chestnuts.
Generally much loved, even by the little ones, for their sweet flavour, chestnuts have interesting properties but they should not be abused, especially if you want to keep blood sugar levels at bay and avoid gaining weight.
Nutritional values and calories
Roasted chestnuts have considerable nutritional values. They are characterized in particular by their richness in complex carbohydrates (84%) for this reason, within a meal, they can be considered an alternative to cereals and certainly not a fruit (it is no coincidence that in ancient times they were nicknamed “cereals growing on trees“).
However, they also contain proteins (8%) and lipids (11%) as well as many fibres. Boiled and dried chestnuts also have very similar percentages (the latter boast the highest quantity of fibre, 13.8%).
These fruits are also rich in minerals and vitamins useful for our body.
Specifically, according to CREA data, 100 g of chestnuts contain:
MACRO NUTRIENTS | ||
---|---|---|
Description Nourishing | Value for 100 g |
Value per Serving 30 g |
Water (g) | 55.8 | 16.7 |
Energy (kcal) | 174 | 52 |
Energy (kJ) | 728 | 218 |
Protein (g) | 2.9 | 0.9 |
Lipids (g) | 1.7 | 0.5 |
Cholesterol (mg) | 0 | 0 |
Available carbohydrates (g) | 36.7 | 11.0 |
Starch (g) | 25.3 | 7.6 |
Soluble sugars (g) | 8.9 | 2.7 |
Alcohol (g) | 0 | 0 |
Total Fiber (g) | 4.7 | 1.4 |
Soluble fiber (g) | 0.37 | 0.11 |
Insoluble fiber (g) | 4.33 | 1.30 |
MINERALS | ||
Sodium (mg) | 9 | 3 |
Potassium (mg) | 395 | 119 |
Calcium (mg) | 30 | 9 |
Phosphorus (mg) | 81 | 24 |
Iron (mg) | 0.9 | 0.3 |
Copper (mg) | 0.4 | 0.12 |
VITAMINS | ||
Thiamine (mg) | 0.08 | 0.02 |
Riboflavin (mg) | 0.28 | 0.08 |
Niacin (mg) | 1.11 | 0.33 |
Vitamin A retinol equivalent (μg) | 0 | 0 |
AMINO ACIDS (% of protein) | ||
Lysine | 6.03 | |
Histidine | 2.81 | |
Arginine | 5.32 | |
Aspartic acid | 19.17 | |
Threonine | 3.76 | |
Serina | 4.24 | |
Glutamic acid | 17.97 | |
Proline | 3.39 | |
Glycine | 4.70 | |
Alanina | 4.58 | |
Cystine | 2.53 | |
Valina | 4.97 | |
Methionine | 1.19 | |
Isoleucine | 3.73 | |
Leucine | 5.91 | |
Tyrosine | 3.19 | |
Phenylalanine | 4.36 | |
Tryptophan | 0.91 | |
Chemical Index | 100 | |
Limiting amino acid | Leucine | |
OTHER COMPOUNDS | ||
Phytic acid (g) |
How many calories are in 100g of chestnuts
As we have seen from the nutritional tables, chestnuts are a very caloric fruit as they are essentially composed of carbohydrates and the calories also change based on the type of cooking or preservation. In particular:
It is therefore a food with high energy valueuseful in autumn and winter to regain strength.
Finally, let us remember that chestnuts.
Do chestnuts make you fat?
Chestnuts do not make you fat, because in reality there are no foods that make you fat, it is always the quantity of food and in general the overall food plan that you follow that must be balanced.
Giulia Biondi Nutrition biologist and Italian food education expert recommends chestnuts as a gluten-free food, excellent for the microbiota and suitable for those following a low-FODMAP diet. He recommends consuming them with proteins, fats and vegetables to balance the glycemic load, making them also suitable for those who monitor blood sugar. He also suggests evaluating the complete meal to avoid flatulence, especially when paired with legumes or many vegetables, specifying that chestnuts are nutritious but do not make you fat. 150 g of chestnuts can be a valid substitute for pasta or bread during the meal, they are equivalent to approximately 70 g of pasta or 100 g of wholemeal bread, or 4/5 chestnuts can become an excellent snack with a good satiety index.
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Properties and benefits
As regards the properties and benefits that chestnuts offer to our body, we could summarize them as follows:
In the popular traditionthen, the chestnut has been used for a long time in therapeutic remedies in common use. In the Middle Ages they were used to combat migraines and gout. The boiling water from the leaves and peels of chestnuts was instead recommended to those who suffered from heart problems.
To improve problems related to the spleen, roasted chestnuts were suggested, while boiled chestnuts were administered to liver patients. With the addition of licorice and sweet fern, chestnuts became a remedy for those suffering from stomach ailments. In case of cough and coldthe chestnut was used for its expectorant and antispasmodic effect.
Perhaps you don’t know that chestnuts were considered a food in the Middle Ages aphrodisiacespecially when they were left to macerate in wine, or boiled in the wine itself.
There chestnut flour (interesting variant of the whole fruit which we talk about below) was instead used in case of heavy menstrual flow, for kidney pain during pregnancy and to prevent the risk of miscarriage.
How to cook chestnuts
Regarding the uses of chestnuts in the kitchen, first of all we must name them roasted chestnutswhich are traditionally prepared using a wood-burning fireplace or an ember. Chestnut flour is then obtained from the dried chestnuts, which is used to prepare the traditional one chestnutto be enriched with raisins and pine nuts.
You can also prepare excellent ones with chestnuts soups. For example, you can roast chestnuts and then cook them in a vegetable broth with aromatic herbs together with your favorite vegetables. You can instead prepare one with boiled chestnuts puree useful for stuffing stuffed vegetables. Both chestnut flour and boiled chestnuts are useful ingredients for the preparation of cakes and biscuits.
How to cook them
Chestnuts can be prepared and enjoyed in different ways:
Finally, there are those who consume them raw even if in this way they are decidedly more difficult to digest and the taste and consistency are not always pleasant.
You may also have some difficulty peeling these fruits, both raw and already cooked. Here you will find some suggestions to make this process easier and faster.
Recipes with chestnuts
Despite what one might think given their sweet flavour, chestnuts are quite versatile foods in the kitchen and with these fruits we can prepare various recipes, both sweet and savory.
Among these we propose:
Chestnuts: 15 recipes for first courses, second courses and desserts
How to use chestnut flour
An interesting alternative to chestnuts is the flour obtained from them, also suitable in this case for making sweet and savory dishes. We have suggested several recipes in which to use it, such as padleti, typical pancakes from Lunigiana but also the chestnut flour, rice and apple cake and the yogurt plum cake with chestnut flour.
This flour, often underestimated and little known, is well suited to making:
Here are 10 recipes to prepare with chestnut flour.
What are the contraindications
There are no particular contraindications to the consumption of chestnuts for healthy people. But these fruits sometimes they are not recommended for those suffering from diabetes, colitis, aerophagia and liver-related diseases. In this case, the advice is to delve deeper into the topic with your doctor to understand whether even occasional consumption of chestnuts could cause unwanted effects.
Given the large caloric intake of these fruits, often consumption is not recommended for those who are overweight or obese.
Legends and popular stories about chestnuts
Since chestnuts are a traditional fruit used since ancient times, stories and legends were born around them such as that of the Green Fairy and others that we have told you HERE.