The sixth day of Christmas – Christmas chestnuts
Celebrating Christmas with chestnuts
“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” instantly conjures the warmth of the festive season. But beyond nostalgia, chestnuts have earned their place at the Christmas table – not just for tradition, but for taste, nutrition, and sustainability.
Your Christmas chestnuts come from the sweet chestnut tree (castanea sativa), a species that can live up to 700 years and grow as tall as 35 metres. The edible parts aren’t technically nuts but are fruits that develop inside green, spiky husks. As such, they are not classed as nuts but fruits. However, if somebody has a nut allergy they may also have a rare reaction to chestnuts, so you must take extra care when using chestnuts as an ingredient. For expert guidance on allergens, read our blogs on allergen management here and here.
With their subtly sweet flavour and rich, earthy texture, chestnuts are incredibly versatile. They can be roasted as a snack, added to stuffings, blended into soups, baked into cakes, or used in festive vegetarian roasts.
In Europe, nutrient-rich chestnuts have long been an important staple food, crucial to groups living in the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean (especially parts of France and Italy) where chestnut flour became a crucial food source – a tradition still visible in regional cooking today.
“As long as we have chestnuts, we’ll have bread.” – Pasquale di Paoli (18th-century Corsican revolutionary). In Japan, chestnuts symbolise strength and success, and in France, ‘marrons glacés’ (candied chestnuts) are a prized seasonal treat. Their adaptability across sweet and savoury dishes makes them a festive favourite worldwide.
Quick tip: How to roast chestnuts
- Score the flat side of each chestnut with a sharp knife
- Roast at 200°C for 25–30 minutes until the skins split and the inside is tender
- Wrap in a clean towel to steam for a few minutes, then peel while warm
How sustainable are chestnuts?
Your Christmas chestnuts are a perfect fit for modern sustainable diets – they’re plant-based, naturally gluten-free, and can replace wheat flour in baking, supporting biodiversity.
Chestnuts are highly sustainable due to their perennial nature, low-input farming requirements, and significant environmental benefits. They require less tilling, improve soil health, prevent erosion, and act as long-term carbon sinks. The trees can live for hundreds of years and require minimal pesticides and fertilisers, especially once established.
The Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is working in countries like Albania to encourage sustainable chestnut production in rural, mountainous regions to foster economic growth, and enable community empowerment. Chestnuts have a vital ecological role, with key hydrological, climatic, and protective functions, that underscores their importance for both to ensure healthy ecosystems and develop rural communities. Moreover, the economic and medical aspects of chestnuts, including the production of fruits, wood, flour, and honey contribute considerably to strengthening the country’s rural economy.
Furthermore, chestnuts offer a more sustainable alternative to many other nuts. Unlike cashews, which are often linked to poor labour practices, or almonds, which have a high water footprint, chestnuts have a lower environmental and ethical impact.
How nutritious are chestnuts?
Unlike most nuts, your Christmas chestnuts are low in fat and calories but higher in complex carbohydrates. Their starch content makes them more similar to wholegrains or root vegetables, offering slow-release energy without heaviness.
Chestnuts are an excellent source of fibre, fatty acids, vitamins, proteins, minerals, and starch. Chestnuts are also notable for their high phenolic content, which contributes to their antioxidant properties.
Chestnuts are rich in vitamin C. In fact, half a cup of raw chestnuts gives you around 35% of your daily intake of vitamin C. Chestnuts lose some of their vitamin C if you boil or roast them but still have around 15% of your daily intake when cooked in this way. To retain more vitamin C in chestnuts when cooking, you can roast them at lower temperatures or use a food dehydrator to dry them.
Chestnuts also contain vitamin E, an important antioxidant that boosts the immune system.
Here’s a great Christmas chestnut recipe to try...
Christmas chestnuts & mushroom risotto (vegan)
Serves 12
adults/16 children
Ingredients:
- 450g cooked, peeled chestnuts (set aside 150g for garnish)
- 80g dried porcini mushrooms
- 180ml olive oil
- 3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
- 6 bay leaves
- 3 tsp sea salt
- 850g arborio rice
- 375ml vegetable stock
- 700g fresh mixed mushrooms, torn or chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C (fan). Set aside 150g of chestnuts for garnish.
- In a large pot, combine the remaining chestnuts with the dried porcini mushrooms and 4.25 litres of water. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and leave to steep for 20 minutes.
- Remove and coarsely chop the rehydrated mushrooms. Strain and reserve 1.75 litres of mushroom broth for the risotto, plus 1.1 litres for the chestnut cream.
- In a large ovenproof pot, heat 90ml oil over a medium heat. Add the leeks, bay leaves, and 3 tsp salt, cooking gently until the leeks are soft (6–8 minutes). Stir in the rice and cook for 2 minutes until lightly toasted.
- Stir in 1.75 litres mushroom broth and the chopped rehydrated mushrooms. Bring to a simmer, cover, and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until the rice is tender and the liquid mostly absorbed.
- To make the chestnut cream, blend the chestnuts (used for broth) with 1.1 litres mushroom broth until smooth. Season to taste with salt.
- In a large frying pan, heat the remaining 90ml oil. Sear the fresh mushrooms until browned. Roughly chop the reserved 150g chestnuts and add to the pan.
- Stir the chestnut cream into the risotto. Add black pepper. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon into warm bowls and top with the seared mushrooms and chestnut garnish.
For more festive inspiration, keep an eye out for the rest of our 12 Days of Christmas blogs arriving throughout December – a dive into every ingredient’s history, sustainability and nutrition, along with a delicious recipe …
Christmas bakes – stirring up tradition
01 December – smoked salmon
02 December – turkey
03 December – Brussels sprouts
04 December – parsnips
08 December – red cabbage
09 December – chestnuts
10 December – cranberries
11 December – dates
15 December – walnuts
16 December – clementines
17 December – cloves
18 December – cinnamon