How Italy Helped Me Rediscover a Christmas Classic: CHESTNUTS

[@PastaGrammar]

Have you guys ever had chestnuts? And do you know of any good places to get them in the US? Asking for a friend… 😅

[@susanlwebb5449]

There is a chestnut Grove near the 10 and 87. I don't know if they sell them to the public.

[@michaelmcnally1242]

Local (Austin) "fancy" grocery gets them in the fall. They're generally not great, with about half of them having the "inner skin won't come off" problem. They're such a pain to deal with that I stopped buying them many years ago, but when they're good they're good. They go well with braised brussels sprouts, cooked in a bunch of butter and good stock.

[@ragazzotexano]

⬆️ Ditto to what Michael said for Houston. I think the mealy/mushy texture of a bad chestnut is one of the vilest things imaginable. (I’m assuming you’re talking about Central Market. Eva might die there. No shortage of legit Italian products.)

[@Msfelixthecatz]

I remember my Sicilian grandparents roasting chestnuts. We lived in CA but they missed chestnuts from back in the day when they lived in NYC. I was so young back then, so didn't appreciate the chestnuts. I'd like to try them again someday.

[@ZaguMaccu]

You all, should plant some shestnut tree... in 5 or 6 years, you may have your own.

[@moniabolletta8923]

As an Italian, I laughed a lot when in front of the French dried mushrooms Eva said - with an expression that alone said it all - "because there wasn't any better"

[@ccpgmike620]

Yes! Especially southern Italians

[@matthewmorrisdon5491]

I always put Chestnuts as more Occitan then Italian. The Camisards use to corner the Kings men in Chestnut groves.

[@NickRossi]

So did I! LOL!

[@MrGilRoland]

You should see her (not) buying French wine.

[@lowlifeuk999]

@@matthewmorrisdon5491 you mean "than Italian". Always amazed on how many native speakers don't know grammar well at all.

[@tsakurshovi6676]

Chestnuts? Mama mia! We just returned from two months in Italia and around the middle of Novembre the chestnut guys magically appeared on every other street corner and piazza. We ate hot fresh roasted chestnuts from the fire every day until we left. Also went to Calabria for the first time thanks to you guys and I had the best pizza I've ever eaten, nduja, cherry tomatoes, onion, and some other stuff I don't remember. Grazie mille e ciao ragazzi!

[@irishpixierose]

I would love to learn about Italian desserts without sugar. Happy Holidays Everyone 🎄

[@theclimbingchef]

A true pistachio Gelato should have very little sugar and taste nutty, not sweet

[@irishpixierose]

@@theclimbingchef love pistachios and Gelato

[@lisapiselli2176]

Yes please, to a desserts with no sugar episode. ❤

[@SweetAlchemynl]

Yeeeeesss a no sugar desserts episode! But also Spaghetti alle vongole o "Pasta allo scoglio" Buone vacanze ragazzi!

[@hiddentruth1982]

30 years from now Harper will say " I've had all the pasta dishes there is. " at that time Eva will bring out a new dish.

[@Beehashe]

I grew up in NYC there were carts in the street selling roasted chestnuts and big pretzels. Every year my dad used to cook them in the fireplace in our house in Brooklyn.

[@ElliotNesterman]

While the chestnut roasting carts are pretty much gone from Manhattan streets, one can still buy raw chestnuts in many groceries around NYC. Of course, they're Chinese chestnuts, the American chestnut being all but extinct.

[@calmeilles]

Same here in London. Although I haven't seen a street vendor for a few years now. We'd also go collecting in Epping Forest and roast them on the fender in front of the fire. Granddad actually had a long-handled roasting plate, full of holes like the roasting pan in the video but almost flat, for the purpose. I wonder where that went?

[@EbefrenRevo]

"roasted chestnuts and big pretzels" ? Damn, sign me in !!!

[@TheCatWitch63]

I just posted a very similar comment. I remember the chestnut carts on the streets of New York in December. Am I wrong? Don’t they exist any more?

[@Beehashe]

@@TheCatWitch63 I think they survived the Pandemic . I’ll ask one of my friends who still live there.👍

[@hernandoprophe2071]

In Spain you can buy roasted chestnuts in winter in the cities and villages, and they are roasted in the street in open fire. In Madrid you can get 12 roasted chestnuts in a paper bag for about 2 to 3€. Nice to see people in Europe are in general big fans of roasted chestnuts! Your videos are always wonderful!

[@giuliaorati4724]

In Italy toooo! But here they're too expensive (those type, not the supermarket one), we always joke that only billionairs can afford 'em (like cherries in the summer)

[@WhiTiger]

Never had chestnuts here in the states. But I have in Spain and they are amazing!!

[@charlesmills6621]

Roasted chesnuts on the streets ın Turkey and Japan, in the wınter. Also, in Japan, they are boıled and eaten wıth a small spoon.

[@natviolen4021]

Roasted chestnuts on the streets in Germany, too.

[@immitable]

Austria as well

[@davidho1258]

The American Chestnut can be found out in the wild but is very rare. The American Chestnut is currently being bred with Chinese Chestnut to hopefully bring it back by creating a fungal resistant breed.

[@Fantafaust]

Hopefully they're careful and it doesn't accidentally go the other way

[@sazji]

@@Fantafaust It can't go the other way. It's choosing the hybrid seedlings that retain the gene for resistance. The rest are gotten rid of; there would be no point in keeping them. And the Chinese variety has been resistant to the fungus for millennia - it actually does attack them but they head it off. That's why the fungus got to the US in the first place; they brought Chinese trees and it was on them.

[@sazji]

There are trees in the Pacific Northwest, where conditions aren't good for the fungus. They've also done gene splicing to give pure American chestnuts resistance without altering any other part of their genome. I'm sad that I'll be long gone before these new trees can recolonize American forests.

[@1ACL]

People have been growing them in Massachussetts for at least 15 years.

[@thecook8964]

Pacific Northwest here, & found an American 🌰 tree. Scored a fantastic amt. Boil chestnuts first & then roast, which makes the husk around the nut easy to remove. Have frozen many of them. So far chestnut soup (delicious), chestnut ice cream, put in stuffing for duck (Thanksgiving), etc. Tonight clam & chestnut rissoto tonight. Looking forward to filling pasta with 🌰 & ricotta. One source says the chestnut blight was the biggest ecological disaster in the US (now forgotten). Food for Naive Americans & very impt. in the Appalachian Mts. Evidently the wood is stellar, doesn't rot, etc. used for railroads, homes, fences furniture, etc.

[@amiblueful]

My grandparents were Italian and we used to have chestnuts every Thanksgiving. My grandmother would cut a cross slit into the top of each one before putting them in the oven, and for us kids would stick a penny or dime into that slit. Ah, the memories

[@ptels]

I grew up in a Sicilian-American family in Buffalo and we always went to my grandmother’s for the holidays and we always had chestnuts. She also cut a cross into the top, but no coins for us! And yes, wonderful memories.

[@jpakaferrari]

When Harper is going on about the open fire the eye roll from Eva was like straight daggers through my screen. 😂

[@markarbar2226]

*Eva :)

[@jpakaferrari]

@@markarbar2226 that's what I get for typing to fast, careless mistakes. Edited accordingly.

[@moviemichaelbuffalo9577]

A terrific video. Beautifully made with excellent techniques. I appreciate the respect you both have for Italian food, your thirst for knowledge about both Italian and American food, and your professionalism. Your humor is rooted in friendship and reality, unlike too many phony, clownish cooks on the internet. Thank you for making Italian food and its traditions vitally important.

[@aris1956]

8:22 It is difficult, dear Harper, to get tired of eating pasta (especially then for us Italians), since each pasta dish, as you see, is a specialty unto itself. The more we travel within Italy, the more we discover new specialty pasta dishes, one better than the other. 😊

[@capoeirastronaut]

It ups the odds if every meal has a pasta course!

[@natashamedina270]

Hey guys! I have to say I'm not a fan of chestnuts by themselves, but my grandma makes this dessert called caggionetti (although I discovered this not too long ago, since she's always called them caggiunitti, which aparently is in dialect, I'm guessing), a christmas dish from Abruzzo. You guys should make them! They're like, these sort of mini sweet empanadas, filled with a chestnut paste mixed with a lot of other things, such as cocoa, coffee, nuts, some sweet liquor, etc. It's one of my favorite christmas desserts and one of my favorite sweets in general. At the end it has a very rich taste, the chestnuts are the base of the filling, but their flavour is almost overpowered by the other ingredients and it's just perfection at the end. I should also point out that if where one lives chestnuts aren't a common product, therefore hard to find, they could be replaced by sweet potatoes. Lots of hugs to you from Venezuela and happy holidays, guys!

[@carolmerlini9971]

All over Abruzzo, we are proud of our delicious Caggionetti at Christmas.

[@77Scarlet]

That sounds so good!

[@rini6]

I remember my Greek American father roasting chestnuts for us in the fireplace many decades ago (I’m 56 so) They were relatively good but some work to open. I didn’t realize they were decimated here in the US. That’s actually very sad

[@doloreskrisky1670]

My love of chestnuts comes from my Grandparents who were from Abruzzi. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas we always had chestnuts and bowls of mixed nuts. Who else remembers the nut bowl with the metal nut cracker and the picks?😊

[@ptels]

I do!

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

I do!!!!

[@Isaac-vq9gw]

That EYE ROLL over Harper's joke. The INSTANT knowledge the chestnuts were old. She's an icon. She's a legend. And she IS the moment.

[@TheHeraldOfChange]

That joke Harper... Go directly to Gaol, Do not pass Go! "Wooosh!" 🤪

[@suzanneszarai]

I am a Hungarian living in America. I make an effort every Fall to find chestnuts to roast. It is getting harder and harder and more expensive every year. Albertson's had it this year imported from Italy. I wash them well, wipe them, make the cut, sprinkle them with water, and I roast them in a pan on the stove on low heat COVERED! It takes about 20-30 minutes. Once it is done I dump them on a tray and immediately cover them with a towel. That way they stay hot and moist while I am eating them. Fantastic treat!

[@ilarya8463]

For my father's birthday in the end of October, my mum makes a chestnut roll cake, outside with castagne and cacao and inside butter and sugar... it's a bomb!

[@kellykrug8056]

As a kid growing up in NY state my Italian grandmother roasted chestnuts for us every Christmas. I had forgot about it until seeing your videos as she has been gone now 20 years. Thanks for the memories.

[@vstier1]

I’m always amazed at Eva’s knowledge of food from different areas of Italy! I barely know the foods from my family! I’d love to know where she learned it all! This episode was so enjoyable! I love the recipes Eva made- they all looked so yummy! ❤

[@jpp7783]

We have chestnuts aplenty in all the grocery stores from late October to about Christmas, although the good ones are gone by late November (good chestnuts are notably heavier, they feel like small rocks). I roast them in a cast iron pan in a very hot oven, then wrap them in a moist towel for about 10 or 20 minutes, which causes the skin to separate from the flesh better.

[@aris1956]

17:41 That is also an art ! Being able to create such a neatly arranged “mountain” of chestnuts. 👍

[@roseconklin5392]

Thank you guys! I really love chestnuts as I am from an Italian background. We are very lucky in Toronto to have a large Italian community and most all of the grocery stores (even Walmart) import chestnuts from Italy. Never tried the chestnut flour but sounds like a great substitute when chestnuts are not in season. Hope you both enjoy your Italy vacation!!!

[@MichiFreddy35]

travel all the way from USA to Italy for chestnuts 🌰 loved that end! 😁

[@rosemarymcgrady5255]

I rememer in new york when i was a child vendor's on almost every corner roasting chestnuts, im 82 brought back memories with my Mom, Dad, and sister, visiting in new york city, they are gone now and so is new york city.

[@natalialopes719]

I am Portuguese. So I was raised with Chestnuts. I live in the USA in a very Portuguese community. Chestnuts are available every winter. Love them!

[@knowtheeself]

I'm from Elba Island (Tuscany) and my mom makes castagnaccio grinding some of the nuts into the batter and adding fennel seeds instead of rosemary. She also adds some orange peel as week. I like her version better, but the I like the traditional one as well.

[@cyracharlton9216]

Yes, please do a video showcasing italian deserts without sugar!

[@alemassa6632]

Castagnaccio and Risotto with Porcini mushrooms and chestnuts, well done Eva, make Northern Italy known to the whole world.

[@katefoss3268]

My Calabrian grandmother roasted our family chestnuts every Christmas season. The tart looks amazing. I may make it depending upon find the chestnut flour. That you for your wonderful videos.

[@mariakoufalis1487]

Here in Montreal Canada, we find chestnuts readily in most supermarkets. The peeled and ready to eat kind as well as the fresh ones by the pound. I am Greek and it is a popular ingredient in our rice-based stuffing. I buy the bagged ones and have them as snacks. Delicious and healthy.

[@ilaria7259]

The place where I live is full of chestnut trees, we have entire mountains of chestnut woods and even lots of villages here take their name out of "castagne" (chestnuts). During world war II chestnuts saved so many people here because there was nothing to eat but we had plenty of chestnuts and they are very rich in nutrients. Where I live torta di castagnaccio is very popular but my favourite chestnut dessert is frittelle di castagne e ricotta, basically a sort of fried pancake served with fresh ricotta on top, I highly recommend that!

[@Skibbityboo0580]

I love this channel for opening me up to a lot of things I didn't know about Italian culture, and cuisine! For example, I had no idea about chestnut pasta, and that at least some Italian woman can roll their eyes so hard it could kill a man.

[@italianfoodmadefromthehear8729]

Fantastic your in Rome, my favorite city. Can't wait, I will be moving to Rome in the Spring.

[@billvegas8146]

I love them and remember when they were widely available. It's a pity they are not around anymore.

[@robstlace4599]

When I lived in Pescara, Italy, we loved our roasted chestnuts. We actually had a chestnut tree in America. It takes a special method to roast them well. I still love them to this day.

[@laurenzieger9617]

Christmas during lockdown, when we were not getting together with people, I decided to splurge on fancy ingredients to bring a special celebratory feel to the season. Our upscale grocery store carries fresh chestnuts, so I bought them for the first time since I was a young child having them at my uncle’s over the fire. I didn’t remember what they were like, but I bought the special chestnut scoring tool, blanched them, then roasted them, and now look forward to having them every year! They are soft, delicately sweet, and are a renewed tradition that brings me joy to incorporate this time of year 😊

[@charliezicolillo]

Harper you should put the chestnuts on the bbq.thats what i do even on the smoker.

[@pw2883]

Eva works for magic once again…with chestnuts! What great news that you are spending Christmas in Italy; I am highly anticipating your upcoming Italy Christmas videos!!!

[@reggie9334]

Yes chestnuts are wonderful and are in our local stores. I’m Portuguese and they’ve always were part of fall/Christmas traditions.

[@Wkkbooks]

This is the best show on KZbin. Last time I was in NYC they still sold them near Central Park in the winter in paper cones, burnt smell so good. Unsweetened canned chestnuts turn up in larger supermarkets, used for chestnut stuffing at Thanksgiving.

[@Adventuresawait68]

As a Sicilian, I love all these recipes, so thank you for sharing. I’d love to see more desserts with no/little sugar

[@diananoonen2262]

Yes, you can still get chestnuts in a local grocery during the holidays. Soak over night, bake at roasting temperature.

[@marjoriebelt2842]

Really enjoyed this video! I had roasted chestnuts for the first time in Switzerland, where they are called marroni. They are yummy. The Swiss also make a dessert out of chestnut purée that is squeezed through a sort of press that makes worm-like strands. It is slightly sweetened and usually served with a little whipped cream - it’s called vermicelles. (I’m originally from Florida, but have lived in various places in Europe for most of my adult life) I enjoy your approach to food very much.

[@tpn3561]

Marroni (marrone = brown) is a variety of chestnuts. Usually they are larger and more expensive.

[@DancingL704]

What a fun introduction to chestnuts I would greatly appreciate Ava sharing her recipes of desserts without sugar

[@bradg7373]

I remember having chestnuts every Christmas when I was a kid. I live in CT and you can find them at a supermarket like Shoprite who cater to many ethnic tastes. We have a huge italian-american population here.

[@randyattwood]

Brought back memories when I lived in Florence in the winter of 1971 and before crossing the bridge Santa Trinita in the cold weather buying a paper cone of roasted chestnuts that warmed my hands as I pulled them out to eat crossing the bridge. Love chestnuts. We are lucky here in Lawrence Kansas to have Chestnut farm. Charlie's Chestnuts. You can find them on line and they mail them to buyers.

[@jowilson5745]

I lived in Pennsylvania, on a fruit farm. We had several chestnut trees. In the fall each year we would harvest them and sell them to a local farm stand. I enjoyed eating them fresh, but when roasted they were even sweeter. They are delicious!

[@blakebella2273]

I ALWAYS have chestnut when in Rome in wintertime... they are the BEST ...😊💖

[@treasuremuch9185]

Chestnuts! Love them in turkey dressing. Also awesome chopped over goat cheese and drizzled with honey. The packages pre-roasted are good quality and good value. Consistent quality. Whereas I've spent big bucks on fresh ones to roast and a few times were moldy inside. If a package pre-roasted are available that's my first choice. Mom roasted them when we were kids and we all loved them at holiday time.

[@stevenanderson3151]

Yes I have had chestnuts, (spent 12 years over seas in Germany and UK) Thats where I had them and loved them. You go walking down town on a cold afternoon with all the chrismas markets and find a guy on the street corner with a chestnut roasting machine. Get a small bag, and they were so nice and warm in the hands and smelled and tasted awesome

[@marjoried.9277]

Love,love,love,chestnuts

[@bethb5915]

You can buy pans in the US for roasting veggies on an outdoor grill that have holes like that - I bet they would work to roast chestnuts on your bbq if you bring fresh chestnuts home from Italy. Buon Natale! 💕

[@cajflod]

Guys I’m so happy you do castagnaccio my favorite dessert!!! If I can be a bit precise castagnaccio is the Italian name, in Florence we call it Migliaccio and maybe also in the other parts of Tuscany. At this point I must go to the bakery and buy a slice 😋😋😋😋

[@timcholodniuk8861]

You guys are so awesome🫶🤍….thank you for all your amazing vlogs and recipes….my wife and I love love love watching you guys and cooking your recipes😊🤗 Much love from us in Canada🇨🇦🇺🇦 THANK YOU…😊

[@annademo]

Growing up in the 1950's - 1970's, we had chestnuts a few times every year. Boiled and peeled and they were delicious.

[@anta3612]

Quanto mi mancano le caldarroste! Quanto sono buone!😋😍 I always wondered why there were no fresh chestnuts in shops in the US and now I know! Here, where I live in the UK, we get them imported from Italy but only at Christmas and they are small compared to the ones back home (N. Italy). Still delicious, though.

[@michellehill4148]

Up here in Canada, we still get chestnuts in the grocers. In Toronto, there is a BIG Italian population so they get them imported. We also occasionally still see a chestnut street stall near the skating and shopping centres downtown. I love chestnuts and we usually bake them in the oven at home! You do have to be careful to pick the fresh ones though.

[@sessionfiddler]

Yup. Definitely Italian grocers or the bigger chains like Longo's import them. Otherwise Asian grocery stores and more mainstream grocers also get them often cooked, shelled and vac packed.

[@tomtheplummer7322]

Just nutty🙏🏻🎅🏻🎄

[@silverserpent420]

Surprisingly, I get my chestnuts from a local place called, "Tim's oriental Market" here in Tx. Specialty Asian markets usually carry them. And for a great price.

[@daniellereid01]

Roasted chestnuts are a staple in the UK, especially in London, or at least they used to be. I haven't lived there for over 30 years. Around this time of year, the chestnut sellers used to roll out their fires and sold them by the cone. When I was little, my Dad used to roast them over a fire, either indoors or on a bonfire outside. They are very special to me xox

[@vicpatrdge5552]

⭐️ We have purchased from Correia Chestnut Farm in Oregon and were beyond impressed.!! We lived in Germany for 8 years, so we know good chestnuts! Thanks & give them a try! 😊 Vicki

[@elizabethhenning778]

It looks like Correia is in California and they sell marroni chestnuts. But there are a bunch of farms in the Willamette Valley in Oregon that grow chestnuts. I believe some of them are (probably hybrid) American chestnuts.

[@vicpatrdge5552]

They use an American rootstock but trees from Italy.

[@jonlilley2832]

Ciao, Eva & Harper! I had Chestnuts when I lived in Japan. I'm not a real fan, but when they came off the trees, they immediately started roasting them. They were a type of street food you could find around shrines & temples all over the country. They'd use them a lot in Japanese sweets eaten with tea, but sometimes you'd find them in your rice. Yeah, well, it was a option. Have a great time and Buon Natale!!!

[@Moi_81]

Chestnuts are so good. I wish we ate them more in the US. First I had them was in Japan. Fell in love.

[@michaelsmith7902]

There is a wonderful chestnut beer from Corsica available anywhere in France. My caviste in Calvi told me it's popular across the way in Liguria/Tuscany too. Corsicans do all kinds of things with chestnut flour too. I'm pretty sure I've seen marrons glacés in Turin. In France the perfect gift for maiden aunts and mothers-in-law. The best are often specified as being made with chestnuts from Turin. I used to have a house in Périgord/Limousin where peasants beg you to pick up and take fallen chestnuts home. The locals roast them, or boil them, peel them and eat them like popcorn. For the last ten years or so I've served our Christmas goose /capon with cognac-laced stuffing and a side of chestnuts and Brussel sprouts simmered in white wine and fond du veau. Last but not least, the Limousins distill a chestnut eau de vie that will see you through from Christmas dinner to New Year's reveillon. Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale to Eva , Harper, and to all you of good will.

[@aldodrossi5303]

Whole Foods usually has chestnuts around the Holidays; we had some for a dressing at Thanksgiving and they weren't bad. And the Ligurian walnut pesto is fabulous!

[@tatjanakecman7236]

Thank you so much for the recipes with chestnut flour and chestnuts. I am gluten-sensitive, and pasta made with chestnut flour is definitely my favourite.

[@alishadarcy8482]

I would love a video with Italian deserts with no sugar. U both always out do yourselves! 👏

[@matteframe]

I remember them in New York City in street carts. They smelled really good. I never ate one. I was a kid!

[@jayceperlmutter4317]

Chestnut gelato - gelato montebianco! So wonderful!

[@DariaAmato-wz2xg]

NYC street carts have roasted chestnuts and sell pretzels too. We sometimes had chestnuts in our turkey stuffing. And after diner with other nuts on Thanksgiving n Christmas

[@AussieAngeS]

I love chestnuts 😍 my father used to have the pan and roasted them on an open flame in a homemade shopping cart BBQ he made. Brings back so many memories from my childhood. I love the pasta dish that sauce looks so interesting. Never tried chestnut flour before.

[@stephaniejaniczekssmugglerscan]

Vienna has vendors roasting chestnuts everywhere. Loved that town

[@joerod7526]

In Lisbon as well.

[@erisisthename]

“Let us know i-“ YES! lol. If Ava makes it, I’m sure it’s delicious. Especially when she beats Harper to the burn appetito. I can only imagine the zero added sugar deserts are amazing.

[@vincentwinner]

Harper, lucky man, eating great dishes everyday, that's what being married to an italian is all about, love you guys, ciao da Palermo

[@chrisstef8004]

Love chestnuts too. My people boil them...sooooo sweet and delicious.. You both are great together...🥰 Australia

[@feliciabarosa7613]

I love chestnuts. I’m Sicilian so I was raised on them, so delious

[@laulau194]

Clicked so fast when I saw chestnuts - I love them about as much as Eva does! The savoury recipes were not new to me, but the dessert looks amazing and might try that as a Christmas treat - also sounds like a good option for my gluten free/diabetic family members!

[@laulau194]

Just coming back to say I made it for our family Christmas celebration and it was delicious (everyone enjoyed it!) - subbed in cranberries and pecans for a slightly festive flair, and served it with lightly sweetened mascarpone. Super easy to make, will definitely make it again and maybe experiment further with the add ins.

[@catherinecorn7627]

I find Freash chestnut at West Side Market in Rocky Hill Ct between Thankgiving and Christmas 😊

[@LoriCiani]

I love hot roasted chestnuts at this time. You can usually find them in Christmas markets in the UK. Lovely for keeping your hands warm while shopping for gifts. 😊

[@Patricia-mb1ol]

Just had Chestnut soup at delicious Forsythia in New York City. Chestnuts are delicious, and we have them all the time here in New York City!

[@erinchamberlain1315]

Yayyyyyyy!!!! What a fun surprise at the end ❤️ so glad you guys got to go for the holidays ❤️ enjoy!

[@alidagualtieri3256]

Love chestnuts. Lucky for me that in Montreal chestnuts imported from Italy are available during the holiday season and that chestnut flour from Italy is also available. We can also get vacuum packed chestnuts at other times of the years not to mention candied chestnuts at Xmas and sweetened or unsweetened chestnut purée. ❤️❤️

[@Drestic]

My mother grew up in the Italian area of the Bronx and grew up eating fresh roasted chestnuts from street vendors. She has a chestnut obsession when they are in season and will stand at the counter in her kitchen eating them all hot from the oven, not even letting them cool. I also love them and like to eat them plain or add them to my Thanksgiving dressing.

[@johnandrez]

Yes, in the Philippines, one of the Christmas food traditions that we have are kastanyas (from the Spanish word castañas) roasted in huge woks over live coals. When we came to Canada when I was young, we were shocked that chestnuts during Christmas were not common here in North America, because we had heard the Christmas carol. We even tried buying some from the store, but we ran into the same problem you guys did: it was very old, and even after baked in the oven, it was hard to open up and did not naturally split open, and the nut was hard and not sweet and smoky. We gave up, and it stopped being a family tradition for us here. That was years ago. Maybe we'll try and see if it's available now. Great video as always! Keep up the good work. :)

[@synym7699]

I always follow you every Sunday with great pleasure.... as an Italian and living in Germany, there is the tradition of roast chestnuts here too, fortunately.... But I will soon be back in Italy, and I am looking forward to enjoying not only the authentic roasted chestnuts made over an open fire in the fireplace, but also the atmosphere around.... while waiting for the moment, I toast to you with a good Glühwein (vin cotto).... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[@anahidkassabian4471]

Yes, please, I'd LOVE to see a video about desserts without sugar! Oh, and happy 2023!!

[@FTumas]

Beautiful. Chestnuts used to be sold on the str eets of NYC in cold months. Delicious. Buon Natale.

[@joecutro7318]

Grazie amici! Glad you made it back to Italia for Natale. 🎄🇮🇹Hiked 6 days straight in Sicily this October and brought a daypack full of gorgeous chestnuts back each day. Made a great chestnut and wild mushroom soup!

[@sharonoldham1486]

Love this and love it more as you are now in Italy for Natale!! I teach a short course - Italian for Travelers. I showed about 10 minutes of one of your videos and you now have a few more followers! They loved it! Thanks for bringing smiles to so many people! Buone Feste!!🎄🎁

[@desiree3488]

Chestnut stuffing is wonderful

[@katiehettinger7857]

Through out my childhood one of the holiday splurge items was chestnuts and when they hard to find these days I by pre-shelled ones from Japan at the Asian market. They are great for eating straight out of the bag and in dressing. 😁👍

[@Hollis_has_questions]

We always had chestnut stuffing with our Thanksgiving turkey. And my dad roasted them in our fireplace. I love them. Please do a no-sugar episode.

[@Nina-xv4ie]

You two are the cutest! Enjoy your vacation!

[@nyccowgirl4720]

Wonderful! Bravo! Harper, As a native New Yorker living in Italy 🇮🇹 I too have not eaten any chestnuts roasted on an open fire. Perhaps this holiday season?

[@annamariaayyad2891]

Thank you for these delightful, never before seen or heard of (for me) dishes. So unique and delicious. I cannot wait to try them out. Here in Toronto, in the 70's and 80's we used to have chestnut carts in winter mostly where you could get delicious roasted chetnuts. So sad we don't see this anymore but thank you for bringing back a beautiful memory. Chestnuts are commonly found in our supermarkets, especially our Italian supermarkets. Enjoy your stay in Italy ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@stevieg4201]

Ever since I was a kid (and I’m old now), my mom made roasted chestnuts every year, I never liked them until I got a little older, now my mom has passed on two years ago and I missed them over the last few years, they were best over a wood fire I think. Thanks for reminding me about chestnuts, I’ll have to make them again. 🇮🇹😎🇮🇹

[@pollysshore2539]

I think there have been some fantastic advancements in restoration of the chestnut trees. I know one conservation group in Asheville NC has been working on it for a few generations and there are more like them all over the east coast. They found stands of healthy trees and got to work. I know they’ve had years of bad luck. The blight has eventually infected the crossbreeds but some are finally looking promising.