Has anyone ever used bottled chestnuts?

tracybaz

Well-known member
I don't know if I just don't like chestnuts or what, but I bought bottled chestnuts for a recipe and tried one and it was horrible. The texture was soft and the flavor was bland.

 
Tracy, If there is a Trader Joe's near you they have a bag of frozen chestnuts....

that I tried last weekend for the first time. It was snowing hard and I did not want to go out but wanted to make red onion marmelade with chestnuts to go along with Richard in Cincy's German Pork Roast. So, I sent DH. He had no idea how much he paid and could not find the recipt. But they were very good. Don't be suprised when you first open the bag and they are still in the shell. They are pre-roasted and peel up in 2 seconds. They are also on the smallish side but worked perfectly in my marmalade!

 
Barbara, would these work well, thawed, then into the chestnut roaster over a fire? They seem to

take so long these days...25 minutes from fresh.

 
Hi Marg, I have never roasted chestnuts over a fire but .....

don't see why these won't work. Since they are already roasted, I think you would be just heating them up and bring out that fresh roasted flavor?

 
Thanks for everyones input. I am glad that it wasn't my tastebuds

and yes I do have Trader Joes in my area. I will look for the chestnuts next time I am there. Thanks for the tip Barbara. That jar of chestnuts set me back $8 and they ended up in the garbarge.

 
Question for you Tracy...

did your bottled chestnuts have an expiration date on the jar? I've never had soft bottled chestnuts, which I use regularly, unless they were starting to go off (usually within about a month of their expiration I'll find some softened ones). I've bought the ones from Williams-Sonoma, Cost Plus World Market, and Trader Joe's. The one problem is that, once open, they really don't hold... so I recently started using Trader Joe's fire roasted frozen and they work very well, for me, if I'm unwilling to roast & peel my own (& I'm usually unwilling to bother, LOL!).

 
They were in a jar and I looked all over the jar and there

was no expiration date or directions for storing. Fortunately the recipe I used was chicken reipe and had a lot of sauce so they were not even noticed. I'm wondering if the grocery store did not initially store them properly.

 
Got it, more info...

it's highly likely they were beyond their expiration, I've had the exact same thing happen to me, so learned by experience not to buy them any longer if they don't bear a *readable by humans!* expiration date. None of that number/letter code nonsense manufacturer's love to use on us! Even then, after I open them, I check each one to make sure they're firm - and - they really need to be used within a few days of opening a jar (at most, a week). If you're near a Trader Joe's the fire roasted frozen chestnuts are a good substitute, and are individually frozen so you can remove just a few from the bag at a time. Skip entirely the chestnuts in water in a can, they seem to be an expensive joke, though the sweetened & unsweetened chestnut purees (canned or, better yet, in a squeeze tube like toothpaste) are very reliable. I use those often but primarily for making desserts and filling chocolates.

Good luck!

 
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