The chestnut is the common name for trees of the genus Castanea, of the beech family Fagaceae, They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
Chestnuts became a staple in the mountainous regions around the Mediterranean Sea thousands of years ago, in part because most cereal grains couldn't grow in these areas.
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During ancient times in the mountainous areas of the Mediterranean where cereals do not grow well, if at all, the chestnut was a staple food. Galen, a Roman physician to various emperors, wrote of the flatulence produced by a diet that centered too closely on chestnuts and commented on the nuts’ medicinal properties, which supposedly protected against such health hazards as dysentery, poisons, or the bite of a mad dog.
Chestnut pie dates back to the 15th century in Italy, having been documented in an early cookbook written by Bartolomeo Platina.
The eastern United States was once the home of over 3 billion chestnut trees. In the early 1900's, the trees were devastated by a disease called chestnut blight caused by a fungus, Endothia parasitica.
Chestnut pie dates back to the 15th century in Italy, having been documented in an early cookbook written by Bartolomeo Platina.
The eastern United States was once the home of over 3 billion chestnut trees. In the early 1900's, the trees were devastated by a disease called chestnut blight caused by a fungus, Endothia parasitica.
The disease, probably imported from the Orient, started near New York City about 1904 and spread rapidly. It killed them as saplings, meaning they all but disappeared.
Because of the blight that wiped out most North American chestnut trees, most domestic chestnut hardwood is salvaged from old support beams or fallen trees and is very rare/expensive.
Roasting the nuts causes them to lose their bitter taste and take on a sweeter one.
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