Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-07
Table and Kitchen.
How to Use Chestnuts in Cookery.

OF all the members of the nut family the
chestnut is without doubt of the greatest
Importance as an article of food, due to the
fact that along with much proteid and
small amount of fat they contain a large
proportion of carbohydrates The large
amount of starch found in the chestnut and
the very small amount of fat or Oil sug-
gests placing them among the breadstuffs
rather than in their rightful class. In
the south of Europe large quantities of
chestnuts are consumed, both the large and
small varieties being used. The nuts are
poileu or roasted, or ground into meal
which is cheap and nourishing This meal
or hour Is made into fat cakes. In cookery
IL IS the custom to range chestnuts with
leguninous seeds, not that they resemble
tnehl IN any botanical sense, but on account
OF the nature of their component parts
winch make them quite unlike all other
nuts so rich in fact, is the sweet italian
chestnut in starch it has been termed the
itallan potato; and, with good reason for
1t IS quite as popular among the poor peas
antry of southern Europe as is the so-called
lrlsh potato among the poor of the Emerald
ls s during the autumn and winter it
often constitutes the principal if not the
only DISH served at two out of three daily
meals. A favorite way of cooking it is to
shell, blarch and steam, then season with
salt and serve with milk The freshly
roasted chestnut Is considered quite a lux
ury by these people. The Italian chestnut
flour shows by analysis the presence of
deXtrin and sugar.
Chestnuts as a Vegetable.
Chestnuts make excellent and most
palatabie vegetable course There are two
processes IN general favor. The one that
retains more of the flavor is follows:
Scaid IN boiling water for ten minutes, then
SKIN and cover well with good, rich stock
and simmer until tender. Season with salt
ana pepper and rub through a sieve, stir
i'll two tablespoons of butter heat until
very hot and serve with roast beef instead
or mashed potatoes. Some cooks color the
mashed cheStnutS with a little carmine Civ
ing n them pale pink tinge. Others use
little brown vegetable stock to give fl richer
color and flavor. The easiest method is to
Doll them for an hour, removing the outer
ana inner skins while hot and then press
them through sieve.
Chestnut PURGE.
This Is a perfect and desirable soup and
Is very appropriate If used in the form of
sauce to accompany white entrees, es-
pecially of turkey
A brown PURGE of chestnHts is delicious.
To produce this the nuts must be carefully
roasted In order to carameliZe them. For
white PURGE, remove the shells from the
cheStnuts, cover with hot water and boil
ten minutes. then remove the brown skins.
lover the chestnuts with boiling sailed
/ ma.ei anu cooh until they are tender; then
drain, mash and rub through a sieve. Sea-
son TO taste with salt and pepper and add
snfnclent not milk, or"half milk and half
cream. or good rich stock to make soup
Oh creamy consistency. Serve very AIT.
A Rich Chestnut Filling.
The most approved chestnut filling for
turkey is made of the boiled or roasted
nuts, mashed seasoned with butter, salt
and pepper; but those who are willing to
tax digestion for Sake Of variety may try
the following: ~ n
Roast thirty large chestnuts, remove the
sEeiis ana inner brown skin. Take about
Ten OF the chestnuts and pound TO paste
with the cooked turkey liver; season to
taste with salt and pepper, add a few drops
'1 onion Jul and teaspoonful OF minced
parsley; bind together with the yolks OF
two eggs. Fill this into the cavity a. the
neck and sew up
For the body stufing take five Or six LINKS
OF the tiny smoked sausage and cut into
small pieces. Mix with cup of fine bread
crumbs, pepper, salt, two ounces, of melted
butter and the remainder of the chestnu;s
using them whole
Chestnut Sauce, to Serve With Turkey.
Remove the shells from four dozen large
chestnuts and put them in a roaster-.3n
iron pan with holes-place them over
clear, bright fire and stir and shake them
about constantly until the skins can be
removed easily. Then put them into a
saucepan with a gill of white wine or good,s