EXPERIMENTATION TIME: Can horse chestnuts be made edible?

In this video I explore the possibility of turning horse chestnuts into an edible food. I have pondered this for a few years since they often produce a huge crop of nuts and I wondered if there was any way we could use this huge resource of energy.
Whilst our ancestors may have had methods to render horse chestnut edible, we have lost those instructions and so here I am trying an experimental approach using familiar methods to hopefully leach all the toxic saponins out of the seeds.
PLEASE NOTE: That horse chestnuts in their raw state are toxic to humans. This IGTV video is an educational experiment based on some vague information on the japanese and the native americans using it as a food once upon a time therefore I do not advise you to try this at home.
#horsechestnut #chestnuts #forager #foraging #experimentalcooking #wildfood #huntergatherer

[@Tatycharmz]

You’re right there should be research more by more people.

[@ilterisaydn6079]

Bro after boiling , you have to make flour from these and then, you have to do process which includes 7 or 8 cycle for watering for remove poison. After watering cycles the wet flour must be tastless (no bitter or no sweat) just tastless. After these process you can use them for bread. In Turkey we use like that, it is not common but it is still eatable. ( Sorry for my English skills :D there can be some mistakes)

[@RichardMawby]

Ohh!, Thank you for the comment. That's good to hear its used there in a similar way. Do you know any shortcuts to take the shells off? - they are very fiddly.

[@ilterisaydn6079]

@@RichardMawby You can firts roast them with just pan or in oven (but you have to first give some little cuts to shell for opening like you did in video). After this process inner nut can be lile a rock but still you can make flour from them with smashing with rocks or mixers

[@RichardMawby]

@@ilterisaydn6079 Ah I think I boiled them first and that made it awkward to peel. I'll try just the oven next time.

[@ThePinkBinks]

@@RichardMawby Have you thought of using a ratchet clamp as a nut cracker? A good strong one with an easy ratchet.

[@ThePinkBinks]

Thanks for the comment. I knew they had to be edible if prepared correctly.

[@miguelcondessa1]

"Horse chestnut cannot be consumed in its natural form, as food, as it contains a high level of esculin, a compound that, in excess, can cause intoxication, causing symptoms such as muscle spasms, enlarged pupils, nausea, vomiting and, in more serious cases, paralysis, coma and death."

[@Tatycharmz]

You have a nice voice btw and I didn’t know any of this thanks

[@rubenhayk5514]

parents said: dont eat horse chestnuts. but every kid knew how they taste

[@XOXO-tf1zm]

I have a horse chestnut tree and I have been racking my brain for some kind of use for these, thank you for the video there's not much out there about this! I'm thinking soap & shade.

[@onlythetruthfull]

I was always told not to even put them in my mouth as they are poisonous to humans, we only used them for a game of conkers, Chestnuts, however, are delicious when roasted especially at Christmas time. They used to be used for a variety of things like dyeing clothes etc.

[@KittyMama61]

So soap nuts are really just horse chestnuts?

[@RichardMawby]

I do not think so. I'm sure soap nuts relate to a different species that also has saponins.

[@vseslavkazakov356]

I tried roasting these for 45 min and boiling them for another 1.5 hours, changing the water every 30 min. No affect at all. They only got more bitter if anything. Pretty sure this idea is not going to work

[@RichardMawby]

That wouldn't work, the only way I know that someone has achieved getting anything useful so far is grinding into fine flour to separate the starch. They're just alot of work to make edible so I haven't tried again since the video.

[@calixtomuni9780]

Try a pressure cooker

[@nickl5658]

Esculin is only slightly soluble in water. It is more soluble in hot water or ethanol. So leeching should be done in hot water or ethanol. I don't think leeching in room temperature water would work.

[@RichardMawby]

Ah yes that was the other toxic part of horse chestnuts almost forgot. Though anything online says only if eaten raw so I assume cooking helps to nullify that? It's the saponins however that first need leaching which are the hardest part to remove.

[@wozacardoza1093]

00:34 that's definitely at least a sixer

[@TheKnightsShield]

I used to eat chestnuts raw when I was younger. I found that after pealing off the outer shell, that they have a skin on them that leaves a rather bitter taste in your mouth if you eat them without removing it first. I remember it tasting like sticking a finger in your ear and then licking it.

[@RichardMawby]

Perhaps you are thinking of sweet chestnuts? - Horse chestnuts are inedible without heavy processing which I still haven't managed to reproduce. I'll have another go one day but the experiment that followed this video didn't go well.

[@TheKnightsShield]

@@RichardMawby I have no idea, all I remember is that they come in the same spikey outer body. What is the difference in their appearance?

[@RichardMawby]

@@TheKnightsShield Sweet chestnuts also come in a spikey outer body but its more like finer spikes, denser and more of them. The inner nut is different too. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Chestnuts.jpg/1200px-Chestnuts.jpg

[@TheKnightsShield]

@@RichardMawby I never knew that. But, yes, that is what I remember, based on the picture. Never did win at playing conkers, but they sure tasted good. 😆 Thanks for setting the record straight, will try to remember that in future when I get a little peckish while out walking.

[@user-wq9mw2xz3j]

​@@TheKnightsShieldof course. Sweet chestnuts are Great, although they should be boiled (or roasted). Candied Sweet Chestnut (/syrupy) is better than any candy. Should buy and try some if it's been that long since you ate any

[@flioink]

There has to be a way. We consume all kinds of stuff that's toxic in raw form. I was just curious if some has ever done it.

[@RichardMawby]

It's been done with other species of horse chestnut in other countries by tribes like the native americans. It seems like a very arduous task to leach all the saponins though as well as peeling these particular horse chestnuts. I'll play around with it again sometime and see if I have any luck.

[@dylantaylor5829]

@@RichardMawby One of those things where it isnt really worth it if you have a consistent supply of grains or potatoes, but it also is pretty pest resistant and yields/stores well, so during times of shortage it is invaluable.

[@Rufusdragons]

Spiders… ok I’m glad I got the horse chesnuts

[@ROM4DRM1]

You talk about how to do a leeching process properly to make them edible and then say that you won't eat them anyway? Where's the logic in that?

[@RichardMawby]

There is a way to make them edible, but this batch i tried didnt work it was still full of saponins weeks after leaching. Haven't had the time to experiment more since - but I know people who have properly leached the saponins out, it's just alot of work. Lots of good info in comment thread, some people posted some valid information about other cultures using them.

[@agronomia2068]

I'm not sure if this works but you could try sprouting them and eating the sprouts. Maybe the ancient people sprouted them for some fresh greens during the winter.

[@RichardMawby]

I don't think that would work with these because even the leaves are high in saponins and I imagine the sprouts would be too.

[@organicgrow4440]

Interesting, i just discovered what the unique looking tree in my rental is, I think it's a Horse Chestnut, any easy way to tell from the leaves, I couldn't really find a clear photo online. It's just flowered & now has some pollinated flowers/fruit forming. I was wondering if there's a way to make these edible but from the comments, I see there's no benefit taste-wise as they'll be tasteless.

[@organicgrow4440]

@@sou007 thanks I put one in the freezer which didn’t freeze! I ate it had a very mild taste & left waxy mouth like astringency

[@alannabonita8209]

How are these doing? Have you listened to the robin harford podcast with maria about leeching acorns? Lots of advice for general leeching there

[@RichardMawby]

Unfortunately not much success... They had so many saponins in them that after 4 weeks they were still leaching. I think either putting them whole into running water is one option for a very very long time, or sacrificing using them as nuts and blending it down keeping the starch but losing all the other stuff. I haven't listened to that podcast I'll check it out but if you see my instagram @foragefrolics I have been doing much more with the 25kg of acorns I gathered this autumn. They are much simpler to process and easy to bake into goodies.

[@JohnGault2398]

I have a book called "A Treatise on the Art of Bread Making" published in 1805 written by A. Edlin. It contains instructions for processing horse chestnuts and a recipie for a flat bread.

[@RichardMawby]

@@JohnGault2398 oh that's amazing. Please may you copy the recipe here if it's not too much trouble?

[@JohnGault2398]

@@RichardMawby Sorry KZbin just notified me of your reply. Will do it later today.

[@JohnGault2398]

@@RichardMawby I apologize, but I can not find my copy. There are .pdf versions online that can be downloaded for free though.

[@jozsefiszaly5268]

So, what's the conclusion, edible or not? :)

[@nathaneadson2019]

Hi I've been foraging for years. Lots of animals eat these raw. I've eaten them raw in small quantities. The heating and leaching I suspect will work. I know you can eat these. But Large amounts as a staple will require work. They don't taste great.

[@RichardMawby]

I wouldn't be able to eat these raw they are too full of saponins to use as a survival food. If I get a chance again I'd shell, blitz and strain off the starch and see if that works but I wouldn't recommend anyone to try and use these in their raw form. Leaching didnt work the first time I tried it they were still very soapy after lots of changes.

[@nathaneadson2019]

I've looked into this more the conkers have to go through a de-carboxylation process. so dry till rock hard. then deshell. leaching will work but. same as acorns boil n repeat till they don't taste rubbish. n are sweet or tasty. blend to a kibble. (food processor time). dry this out then add to recipes like you would nuts. i still would not pig out on these. to much of this in 1 go could make you feel wonky. this info i have not tried cus last year was rubbish for conkers n the 1s i got i want to plant

[@gman6652]

Hey, how did this go in the end? I've been curious myself about this too

[@RichardMawby]

No luck, but will try again when I have some time.

[@jesuschristislordoflordsan427]

afaik they are made into medicine by cruching them into powder. yet to find out if they are cooked or whatever before that though

[@RichardMawby]

Interesting, not something I've heard of before but I'll do some googling, thanks!

[@j.w.1419]

Yes cause big pharma doesn't want you to be able to cure your diabeties or thyroid problem.. if people could cure themselves, that woundn't be good.

[@jozsefiszaly5268]

Hi, can you post an update about your experiment?

[@RichardMawby]

Unfortunately no update as they were very time consuming and hard to process.

[@dgmr22]

I would try mashing them up into a pulp/powder, then put them in a sock then use a water source to wash the toxins through the material, until only clear water comes out of the sock (no more milky liquid) and you will be left with a clean mostly toxin free pulp. Then bake (pat it into a biscuit shape) i watched this being done with acorns by Ray Mears. I see you have done acorns, i commented right at the start of the video, also just heard you say about the acorn pulp

[@RichardMawby]

Aye, would work fine for acorns, you wouldn't want to wash horse chestnuts in a water source because it would be harmful to aquatic life. But next time I have the time to shell these nuts I'll try grinding them down first. But it's not worth the energy spent really, it would be fine as a survival food only.

[@dgmr22]

@@RichardMawby I've always wanted to try roasted acorns/acorn biscuit/acorn pancake. Yeah absolutely, i agree it's not a good idea to do it in a river as it would harm the fish. I just remembered seeing Ray Mears do it with acorns and he then baked it on a stone on a small fire. I'm assuming the toxic part is much more abundant in horse chestnuts. How did your experiment go, how did the acorns and conkers work out. It is such a shame that acorns and horse chestnuts go to waste. Apparently acorns were a huge part of our diet a few thousand years ago. It's such a huge and untapped resource, except from a squirrels point of view :D I can attest to how bad conkers taste, because once when collecting conkers with my friends when we were 10 or 11 we got impatient with a big conker that wouldn't come out of its shell, so I bit the shell open and it completely took all the moisture out of my mouth and tasted horrendous, I then dared my friends to do the same by pretending it tasted good lol. Let's just say none of us ever bit a conker again.

[@RichardMawby]

@@dgmr22 acorns are completely different to conkers in terms of a food. The only reason acorns are inedible at first is high tannin content. This can be easily leached, like ray Mears did. I do it in a few changes of water over a few days and grind into flour. Works really well in baking etc.

[@rismarksvej]

Once I mistakenly had an entire horse chestnut and my nose bleed terribly that night AFTER I fell asleep. The next morning I woke up and was frightened by my red white pillow.

[@RichardMawby]

Wow I've not heard of that happening. Glad you are ok.

[@mariahavraham7507]

I doubt if you ever ate a whole horse chestnut. The smallest nibble taste like poison. I know from experience. Mariah

[@mariahavraham7507]

@@RichardMawby I have four majestic horse chestnuts across the street from my house. I am looking forward to experimenting with some of them. Such a shame to see these beautiful nuts wasted. Mariah

[@rismarksvej]

@@mariahavraham7507 Well...I am from China and I'm sure you have not tried real food with a tast of poison as much as we do.

[@mariahavraham7507]

@@rismarksvej so have you eaten processed horse chestnuts ? However people are still feeding babies formula instead of mother's or goat's milk. Poison, by another name, some may say. Regards Mariah

[@someting9205]

Have you tried cold leeching? I dont think boiling them helps. Works with acorns.

[@someting9205]

Put them in a river for a couple of days and see what happends.

[@RichardMawby]

Oh I just saw this comment after replying to other one. This has been an idea for a while.. just yet to try it.

[@GustavN]

Here's what people in Japan do with Japanese Horse-chestnut (Aesculus turbinata): Basically the horse chestnut need to be washed and dried for a month, boiled and get the skin removed, after that they will be treated with Wood Ash (as a Base), and at last washed and get the black parts removed. In China, people do it in the pretty much same way as well.(Aesculus chinensis) I am not 100% sure whether it will work with Horse-chestnut in Europe (Aesculus hippocastanum), but since they are from the same genus Aesculus and their toxic substances should both mainly be Saponin and Aesculin, i assume it should work... I'm making a apocalypse survival game based on a environment similar to Europe, it will be fun if those Horse-chestnuts would make nice food source after such a long process.🤣

[@GustavN]

You can search 栃の実のあく抜き方法 for videos and website introductions~

[@RichardMawby]

Thank you for the reply and the detail! - Sounds like quite the large process vs. other sources of calories out there. Will have to try that method once I get some time to experiment again.

[@GustavN]

@@RichardMawby And i think that's almost why Jomon culture get replaced by Yayoi culture at last. Because you know...They have rice.😂

[@dylantaylor5829]

Ive been trying to figure out how this might be done for years so thank you so much! A similar method is used to process moreton bay chestnut (Castanospermum australe) into edible meal. Interesting given that its a leguminous tree and not related to the Aesculus spp. at all.

[@j.w.1419]

@@RichardMawby Its not, you just need to roast them for 30-35 mins. Now we know why chestnuts were roasting on an open fire.

[@sunflowerfina1]

What’s leech them mean?

[@RichardMawby]

Leach as in soaking out all the toxins in water... though this is purely experimental and not advised for anyone to try. Acorns on the other hand you leach the tannins out to make them edible.

[@PrimateSoul]

@@RichardMawby river method like acorns makes more sense

[@mariahavraham7507]

To draw out impurities, often with liquid solution.

[@mariahavraham7507]

Why not process the chestnuts by leeching them in daily water baths for three or four days, before cooking. You have the cart before the horse (chestnut). I have seen it done in other places with toxic nuts and foods. Changing the water every day of course. Rendering a toxic food palatable. You must do that with acorns. Mariah in Pt Alberni

[@RichardMawby]

Tried putting in water changes daily and didn't quite work out. Will try again one day, they are a nightmare to peel! - there's another toxin that needs to be destroyed in another way, i think heat does it from what I understand but need to read more into it. It's an energy intensive process so probably only good as a survival food. Acorns are much simpler, just leach grind down and use as flour or use in halves however you want to eat them.

[@mariahavraham7507]

@@RichardMawby how about a good clout with a hammer to break the skin. The nut will expand and do the rest. When processing olives , I have seen that done before a saline brine is administered . As you cannot eat olives off the tree. They taste like poison. Do you ever wonder which genius discovered olive processing? Perhaps horse chestnuts will be next.

[@RichardMawby]

@@mariahavraham7507 Could work with a hammer, will have to try sometime. Horse chestnuts have been done by our ancestors, there's knack to it, but there are also different genus of horse chestnut and the variety in the UK is the one with the least information far as I know. Theoretically it's the same across the spectrum but with oak you have various tannin contents through different species so it could be the same with sapponins and the other toxin found in horse chestnuts.

[@j.w.1419]

Native american's just soaked them for a few day's then roasted them to make them non toxic.

[@ThePinkBinks]

Are you able to use the water for leeching as soap please?

[@sepsimargit7582]

@@ThePinkBinks You can try it,if the water is silky and can make bubbles with your hand ,it is good as soap.

[@halcontv]

im here because i just ate one and now im worried lol

[@RichardMawby]

Surprised you managed to eat a horse chestnut - would be hard with all the saponins. Are you sure you didn't eat a sweet chestnut instead?

[@halcontv]

@@RichardMawby i only ate a little bit but its this one, im ok, was just worried. Was pretty sour too which made me curious to look it up

[@NoriMori1992]

What kind of horse chestnut is this? European horse chestnut? On Google, some results say horse chestnuts are safe in small amounts, other results say to never eat them. Will a person get noticeably ill from just eating one or two?

[@RichardMawby]

European. They are too rich in saponins to even try and eat one.

[@NoriMori1992]

@@RichardMawby Thanks for the reply! Interesting. What happens if you eat just one? And is that also true of other species?

[@RichardMawby]

@@NoriMori1992 I wouldn't advise it with horse chestnuts. Sweet chestnuts on the other hand are a completely different tree and very delicious

[@NoriMori1992]

@@RichardMawby Yes, but what happens? And I meant other species of horse chestnut 😆

[@RichardMawby]

@@NoriMori1992 could make you very ill. I'm not familiar with other species.

[@Volound]

you can literally just roast them and eat them. they taste bad and they cause an unpleasant feeling in the stomach, but you dont die or have health problems from it. if youre in a survival situation, im sure you could roast these over and fire and eat them. ive eaten one like that and all it did was make my stomach feel bad. i was with someone that did it and ate four. FOUR. if youre hungry enough, youll do it. and you wont die. you wont even become ill. just make sure you dont roast and eat 20 of them at the same time. i think you would be able to use these to mix with real flour. this would probably be better than mixing flour with sawdust, because this actually has caloric value.

[@Volound]

you could actually survive like that. you could gradually introduce these to your rations and eventually subsist largely or entirely on them and stay alive that way. no idea about the long term health effects, but if you need calories to survive, and if they contain protein and fat (like all nuts), then you could develop a tolerance to the poisons. mithridatic exposure.

[@RichardMawby]

I wouldn't risk doing that in a survival situation. If you ruin your digestion then you're in real trouble. It's better just to grind to flour, leach and then use the left over starch. Horse chestnuts are quite poisonous to humans so even if you may not 'die' from eating a few, I wouldn't recommend it.

[@Volound]

@@RichardMawby by survival situation, i mean where you are struggling just to survive and have no alternatives. doubt anyone in a typical survival situation would have equipment required for processing. youre usually lucky if you can make fire. i would roast and eat horse chestnuts and eat them like i did recently, instead of starving. thats the point.

[@sunflowerfina1]

Do squirrels eat them?

[@RichardMawby]

Not sure if Squirrels do, I may have seen one or two nibbling one - though the mice love to gather and eat them.

[@j.w.1419]

Yes and raccoons, humming birds like the flowers of my red buckeyes.

[@keepclean4033]

Did it work?

[@RichardMawby]

sadly not, havent had a chance to play with it since but I'll try again some time.

[@user-gu7ht9el9w]

I like