Chestnuts Simmered in Their Inner Skins
- 1 kg Chestnuts, unshelled
- 3 tbsp Baking soda
- 400 grams Beet sugar (or refined white sugar)
- 1 Brandy or rum
- Boil the unshelled chestnuts in hot water.
- This will make it easy to remove the outer shell.
- They are ready to peel once the water cools to the touch.
- Use a knife to make small cuts at the base of the chestnut, as if scraping, to judge the thickness of the outer shell.
- After making a few cuts, you will have a sense of how thick it is.
- Since the outer shells will be soft, after making a cut with your knife, you can peel them towards the top of the chestnut.
- Try to do it all with a knife might be dangerous!
- Remove the skin without cutting into the flesh as shown in the photo.
- If there are any easily removable thick fibers, carefully strip them off.
- Rinse the chestnuts, put them into a pot with water, add 1 tablespoon baking soda, and simmer over low heat.
- Be careful not to bring them to a rolling boil, since the chestnuts will break apart.
- This is what it should look like after simmering for about 20 minutes--pitch black with thick skins.
- Remove from heat, then rinse each chestnut carefully with water.
- Then repeat Step 5.
- After repeating Step 5, carefully rinse the chestnuts once more and remove any remaining shell or fibers.
- By simply gently rubbing the chestnuts with your fingers, you should be able to get them nice and clean.
- To maintain their appearance, try to keep the chestnuts moist.
- The inner skins will crack easily when dry.
- Fill the pot with chestnuts and enough water to cover them, add sugar, then bring to a boil.
- Remove any scum that rises to the top.
- Simmer for about 30-40 minutes while keeping an eye on the pot, then remove from heat.
- Allow to cool in the pot, and add brandy or other liquor of your choice for flavoring.
- If you have worked through each step carefully, you will have perfect simmered chestnuts.
chestnuts, baking soda, sugar, rum
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/170057-chestnuts-simmered-in-their-inner-skins (may not work)