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Nuts & seeds

Chestnut

Chestnuts are nuts that can be eaten raw or cooked. They have a mildly sweet taste when cooked. Cooks boil, roast, grill, steam, or deep-fry them, and also preserve them or use them for stuffing.

  • Plant-based

About the plain ingredient, not packaged products; general information, not medical advice. Details

Category
Nuts & seeds
Part used
Fruit
Family
Fagaceae
Chestnut, whole

Photo: Jytim · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In the kitchen

How to use chestnut

Typical ways to cook or use it

  • Boil simmer
  • Deep fry
  • Grill
  • Preserve
  • Raw
  • Roast
  • Steam
  • Stuff

Preparing it

Peel chestnuts before eating them raw; removing the inner skin can reduce astringency. Score chestnuts before roasting to prevent them from bursting.

Cooking with it

Chestnuts need not be peeled before roasting.

Flavour

Taste and texture

Taste, cooked profile of chestnut

Sweet2 out of 5
Sour0 out of 5
Salty0 out of 5
Bitter0 out of 5
Umami0 out of 5

Shopping

Choosing and storing chestnut

Keeping it

  • Fridge · cooked3–4 days
  • Freezer · cooked
Sold as
Canned, Dried, Fresh, Whole

Nutrition

What 100 g of chestnut holds

Per 100 g, raw. Averages from USDA; real values vary by variety, season and growing conditions.

Protein 5%Fat 5%Carbohydrate 91%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of chestnut, raw
Energy213 kcal · 891 kJ
Protein2.4 g
Fat2.3 g
of which saturated0.43 g
Carbohydrate46 g
Fibre8.1 g
Sodium3 mg
Cholesterol0 mg
Nutrition per 100 g of chestnut, raw: minerals and vitamins
Potassium518 mg
Calcium27 mg
Iron1 mg
Magnesium32 mg
Zinc0.52 mg
Vitamin C43 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)1 µg
Folate62 µg

Source: USDA FoodData Central (food 170574), public domain. Minerals and vitamins are listed only where USDA measured a non-zero amount.

Good to know

Diet and allergens: chestnut in detail

These notes describe the plain ingredient. Packaged and prepared products vary, so read the label; for allergies and medical diets ask a doctor or dietitian.
Allergens
None of the 15 listed allergens foundChecked and not found: eggs, fish, milk, molluscs, sulphites, crustaceans.
Animal origin
No animal ingredients foundChecked and not found: egg, fish, meat, dairy, honey, insect, gelatin, poultry, bone char, shellfish, other animal, animal fining, animal rennet.
Alcohol
None
Pork
None

Family

Related forms

A kind of
nut

Around the world

What chestnut is called

Names in 35 languages, from Wikidata.

  • Spanish

    castaña

  • French

    châtaigne

  • Italian

    castagna

  • Portuguese

    castanha

  • German

    Edelkastanie · Esskastanie · Marone · Maroni

  • Dutch

    kastanje

  • Greek

    Κάστανο

  • Turkish

    kestane

  • Russian

    каштаны · Каштан (плод)

  • Arabic

    كستنة · القسطل · قسطلة · لكمة

  • Hebrew

    ערמון · ערמונים

  • Japanese

    栗 · クリ · 栗の実

Show all 35 languages

  • Armenian

    շագանակ

  • Basque

    Gaztaina

  • Breton

    Kistin-Roazhon

  • Catalan

    castanya

  • Cebuano

    Kastanya

  • Corsican

    Castagna

  • Czech

    kaštan · jedlý kaštan

  • Esperanto

    kaŝtano

  • Extremaduran

    Castaña

  • Galician

    castaña

  • Hungarian

    Castagna

  • Irish

    cnó castáin

  • Kabyle

    Idernen

  • Korean

    밤

  • Norwegian Bokmål

    kastanje

  • Occitan

    Castanha

  • Pampanga

    Kastanyas

  • Picard

    Catin·nhe

  • Romanian

    Castană

  • Shan

    မၢၵ်ႇတူပ်း

  • Slovenian

    kostanj · maron

  • Swedish

    kastanj

  • Ukrainian

    каштан

Sources and credits

Data

Wikidata item: Q773987

Photos

Photo: Jytim · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons