Chestnut ? First time for me.

Received access to a Chestnut tree.
First time ever harvesting for me.
Is there any longer term storage for these ?
I'm sure I'll be eating some.
But I'm looking at 4-5 gallons of nuts.
I stopped by yesterday and picked up half of a Harding's bag in about 20 min.
Still way over half of the ground untouched and lots more in the tree if they make it.
What do you do with the excess?

Try some before going nuts....

Ive eaten some raw and they were kinda addicting. Tried them roasted and I thought they were horrible. Not sure why they made a Christmas lyric about them.

I've heard that opinion before. It makes me wonder how much difference there is in the foreign chestnut that we mostly have now vs the American chestnut that we mostly lost.

Put them in the refrigerator. If you picked them up off the ground, chances are each one has a worm. If you picked them off the tree chances are no worm. If you want to grow some put them in a baggy in the refrigerator until Feb march. Then stick in dirt in the greenhouse or somewhere warm. By the end of May they will be about 2 ft tall. Then plant them where there is full sun at least 25 feet apart. 30 to 35 feet would be better. I've started several hundred that way and have them planted all over the place and have given all my friends trees.

Yep refrigerator ASAP

cooked to me are NASTY

Naturally dried they get sweeter with time

Chestnuts need to cure down a little after harvest. The inner pellicle (the fuzzy inner skin that coats the kernel) is quite bitter. You want to remove it. On some varieties of chestnut they come right off after curing. In the low quality ones the pellicle is convoluted into the wrinkles of the nut and hard to remove.

They are an acquired taste for sure. There are a few guys at work that like them and they bring them in. The first time I had them I hated them. The second time I thought they were OK. The third time I kinda liked them. And now I think they are addicting. I get from from the guys at work when they order them. Normally I get them already roasted and frozen (the guys at work do them in large batches). I then just warm them up in the microwave. I eat them plain or with butter and salt. They do have a mealy texture for sure. If you are going to roast them use a sharp knife or utility knife to cut an X in the shell before roasting, it makes removing the shell much easier afterward.

Interesting responses.
Sounds like I need to try a few.
Might not be what I'm hoping.
Probably try to share some.
Last year squirrels were getting most of them.
This year not a sign of squirrels yet.
Maybe not a good sign.

Yea, no squirrel activity around mine either. I got sawtooth oak acorns all over the ground too and they aren't bothering them either. Neither are the deer or bears. Usually the deer eat everything as fast as it hits the ground, then the bears come in and vacuum everything up. Not sure what's going on this year.

The squirrels on my farm are trying to harvest the black walnuts before I can. Often they seem slow to go after the black walnuts, but this year they're really into them. There's likely something else available, that the squirrels prefer, near your chestnut trees.

Keith

Our American chestnuts are only about the size of the end of your finger. I still find a few here and there from trees that still produce.

Scout1, have you tried them, and if so is there any difference in flavor?