Saturday, November 15, 2008

That old chestnut




Châtaignes dans les bois
Se fendent, se fendent,
Châtaignes dans les bois
Se fendent sous nos pas
*
Chestnuts in the woods
Split open, split open,
Chestnuts in the woods
Split open at our feet

Words from a French song


I am not going to crack any lame jokes about French nuts in this post, although there is certainly plenty of potential. Instead, I am going to talk about the chestnut, without which Noël just wouldn't be Noël and it would be a sad and empty day for festive turkeys everywhere.



In French, there are two words for chestnuts: châtaigne and marron. The distinction is recent and merely culinary. They come from the same tree but the fruit is called a châtaigne when there are two or three nuts in a burr (the prickly shell), and a marron when there is only one. I have no idea why this is important but apparently it is.



Up until the 19th century, chestnuts were a major source of nourishment for people and animals alike. In fact, in some regions of France, the tree was known as the 'bread tree' because the fruit - and the wood - were so valuable. Although chestnut trees had been around for thousands of years, the first cultivated chestnut groves, or châtaigneraies, were only established in France during the Middle Ages. The tree thrives in warmer climates so most were planted south of the Loire, particularly in the Cévennes region, where chestnuts are still a speciality. The fruit was eaten roasted, made into jam or cooked with milk and vanilla to make a soup called bajana and it was also pounded into flour and used for making bread. At one time, it was even used as a trading currency and dowry offering - so, happy indeed was the soul with a few chestnuts rolling around in his pocket.



Sometime during the 19th century, the chestnut trees were afflicted with ink disease caused by a fungus, which reduced their number considerably. Gradually, the chestnut's popularity waned as people became more prosperous and could afford to vary their diet. There was a brief return to glory in wartime when the chestnut saved the population from famine, but the mass rural exodus in the 1950s sealed the fate of the humble chestnut tree forever. Once a vital necessity, it became little more than something to stand under.





Chestnuts are still gathered in the traditional manner - that is, picked up from the ground. There isn't any other way to do it really, as they are only ripe when they fall off the trees, which happens at the end of October. The use of nets makes the job easier and good chestnut pickers can gather up to four hundred kilos a day. In the past, they were paid in chestnuts and today, they would argue, they're paid peanuts (but that's another story).


Because of their high water content, chestnuts don't keep well so need to be preserved and the best way is by drying them. In some regions, this is still done in a clède, a small two-storey building with a slow-burning fire on the ground floor that dries the chestnuts spread out on the large rack that forms the first floor. After about a month, the chestnuts are skinned and are ready to be ground into flour or packed into tins and jars. In the past, the skinning process was carried out by men who stamped through the piles of chestnuts in boots studded with long nails. Today, they use a slightly more sophisticated method involving machines.






However, France has to import two-thirds of the total chestnuts they consume, mostly from Asia. And they are very fond of them. From October onwards, the smell of roasting chestnuts wafts through the city streets from chestnut sellers' stalls - although three euros for a small cone is a bit steep for something you can pick up yourself in the local park. It is, of course, unthinkable for the French to stuff their turkeys with anything other than chestnuts (my dehydrated sage-and-onion mix has never met with great success here) and those famous marrons glacés - candied chestnuts - are as essential to their Christmas as a tin of Quality Street is to ours.

A favourite topping for crêpes or toast is crème de marrons, a thick and sweet chestnut spread flavoured with vanilla. The best-known brand is sold in retro brown and white tins evoking the distant childhoods of a bygone era…it is the ultimate comfort food although condensed milk comes a very close second. You can also buy chestnut honey - and I have done, so I can warn you that the smell is atrocious and reminiscent of fresh cowpat but the taste is… unusual, perhaps, but not bad. As for bread made from chestnut flour, I bought some the other day from a health food shop. It was a small and extremely expensive loaf and I think I'll be giving it a miss in the future. To be perfectly honest, it didn't go very well with my Marmite…

24 comments:

Gary Benfold said...

Welcome back!

Anonymous said...

When we used to go looking for girolle and ceps mushrooms in the woods in the Department Lot the chestnuts were a bloody nuisance.

Because there were so many chestnut trees the damn nuts were ankle deep and we had a job to find the mushrooms. There were that many chestnuts around that the locals didn't bother with them.

Now back in England I have to PAY for them for Christmas!

M said...

What an interesting read that was. I certainly didn't anticipate I'd be reading, and learning something about chestnuts when I logged on.

Anonymous said...

Yummy ! I love so much "marrons glacés" ! I'm waiting for Christmas only for this reason !

Gigi said...

Thanks, Gary - I donned a cunning disguise and recaptured the computer :-)

Keith - to be honest, I don't even like chestnuts. I love mushrooms, though...

Thanks, Michelle - well, they do say 'you learn something everyday', don't they?

a-l - désolée - I'm afraid I absolutely hate marrons glacés...my girls love them though - as well as that sickly spread :-)

Dumdad said...

I'm not a great fan of chestnuts. My (French) wife likes them.

For me, it's Non! to marrons, Oui! to Marmite.

Gigi said...

Snap, dumdad!!

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

What an interesting post.. I did not know they imported their chestnuts.. I just discovered your blog..and I'm delighted I did..
hugs ~lynne~

Anonymous said...

Chataigne and marrons are different. Marrons are conkers from the horse chestnut "Aesculus hippocastanum" . Chestnuts come from the sweet chestnut or Spanish chestnut "Castanea sativa" which is completely different with a single lanceolate leaf whereas horse chesnuts have large compound leaves. Horse chestnuts are not edible for humans but can be fed to cattle.

I like your blog and as a former French resident it makes me very nostalgic.

Gigi said...

Lynne - I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. I'll pop along to your blog later and say hello :-)

Bonjour anonymous...so where do you live now, then? Do you get back to France regularly?

Yes - marrons d'Inde are horse chestnuts but marrons glacées and crème de marrons are chestnuts - apparently there is a distinction in cookery. I don't even like 'em anway :-)

Anonymous said...

Hello, I am anonymous although I did not mean to be, I ticked the wrong box.
Alas, I have lived in London for many years. I try to return to France but I don't manage it often enough. However, we are off to Marseille next week for the Foire aux Santons. I hope to bag afew more treasures for my creche.

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Hi just discovered your blog through..My Swiss Window...marrons glacés is just what my mother-in-laws was talking about the other day..I have never heard of them. Very interesting.

Anonymous said...

Another very interesting post, thank you.
I have to admite that I don't like marrons glaces either. They are far too sickly.
While visiting friends in the south we sampled a wonderful liqueur made from chestnuts though.

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Thank you for your coming over to my blog...pleased you did, as I couldn;t remember where I read about marrons glacés. :-)

blueVicar said...

Yum! Love chestnuts just any old way.

Seasons greetings!!

Meilleurs voeux!!

N said...

Mmmh I had forgotten the crème de marrons! How could I! So deliciously unique...

逆円助 said...

さあ、今夏も新たな出会いを経験してみませんか?当サイトは円助交際の逆、つまり女性が男性を円助する『逆円助交際』を提供します。逆円交際を未経験の方でも気軽に遊べる大人のマッチングシステムです。年齢上限・容姿・経験一切問いません。男性の方は無料で登録して頂けます。貴方も新たな出会いを経験してみませんか

精神年齢 said...

みんなの精神年齢を測定できる、メンタル年齢チェッカーで秘められた年齢がズバリわかっちゃう!かわいいあの子も実は精神年齢オバサンということも…合コンや話のネタに一度チャレンジしてみよう

メル友募集 said...

最近仕事ばかりで毎日退屈してます。そろそろ恋人欲しいです☆もう夏だし海とか行きたいな♪ k.c.0720@docomo.ne.jp 連絡待ってるよ☆

家出 said...

最近TVや雑誌で紹介されている家出掲示板では、全国各地のネットカフェ等を泊り歩いている家出娘のメッセージが多数書き込みされています。彼女たちはお金がないので掲示板で知り合った男性の家にでもすぐに泊まりに行くようです。あなたも書き込みに返事を返してみませんか

動物占い said...

あなたの性格を、動物に例えて占っちゃいます。もしかしたらこんな動物かも!?動物占いをうまく使って、楽しい人間関係を築いてください

家出 said...

家出中の女性や泊まる所が無い女性達がネットカフェなどで、飲み放題のドリンクで空腹を満たす生活を送っています。当サイトはそんな女性達をサポートしたいという人たちと困っている女性たちの為のサイトです

Unknown said...

Yeah, the basic difference is "marrons" are not edible and "châtaignes" are, though we call them either way mostly "marrons". The "châtaingnes" have a furry "tail" compared to marrons.
I lived in Minnesota, where chestnuts are totally rare. Haaa, nothing like "marrons chauds" to warm up a stomach in winter.

Anonymous said...

fluenz coupon code