In order to have more than a month to eat a large supply of chestnuts, it is advisable to freeze the delicious chestnuts. We describe all the options in the following guide.

Chestnuts are blanched and frozen

Types and periods of storage of fresh chestnuts

Fresh chestnuts keep for one to two weeks at temperatures of ten degrees Celsius. If you put the chestnuts in a perforated plastic bag and then put it in the fridge, the shelf life will be extended to about a month. The chestnuts stay edible even longer if you store them in the freezer: they will still taste delicious after a maximum of twelve months.

Freeze chestnuts - step-by-step instructions

Most people later want to cook their chestnuts peeled. We therefore recommend blanching and peeling the chestnuts first and then freezing them.

  1. Cut in the chestnuts. To do this, take a sharp kitchen knife and carve a small cross on the curved side of the chestnuts. This step will make it easier for you to peel the chestnuts later on.
  2. Depending on how fresh they are, blanch the chestnuts for 10 to 20 minutes. The fresher the chestnuts are, the less time it takes to cook them. You can use our guidelines to estimate the duration: ten minutes for very fresh chestnuts, 20 minutes for relatively old specimens. If you don't want to blanch the chestnuts, you also have the option of putting them in the oven and baking them there for half an hour at 180 degrees Celsius.
  3. Allow the chestnuts to cool briefly until you can touch them without pain.
  4. Peel the chestnuts. This is quite easy to do if you slide a small knife into the incised cross. The robust shell gives way quickly. Be sure to also remove the brown skin just below the shell. It has a very bitter taste that you can do without.
  5. Place the chestnuts on a grid where they dry and cool further.
  6. Put the chestnuts in smaller portions in freezer bags or cans. The smaller portions are important in order to offer all the chestnuts enough space in the packaging. If you use freezer bags, you now have to remove the excess air from them - either with a vacuum sealer or with your mouth.
  7. Seal the bags or cans airtight.
  8. Place the containers in the freezer.

Overview of preparation options

There are various alternatives as far as the preparatory measures before freezing are concerned:

  • Neither blanch/bake nor peel the chestnuts, place them whole (cut into them) in a vacuum-sealed freezer bag and put them in the freezer
  • Cut in chestnuts and roast until almost done, allow to cool and then place in vacuum-sealed freezer bags in the freezer

Use chestnuts after freezing

Depending on the preparation, you may need to defrost and peel the chestnuts. If they are already peeled, you can skip defrosting and roast the chestnuts directly (about ten to 20 minutes) and then eat them.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:

  • as a free PDF file to print out yourself

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