"August pear, September hawthorn, October chestnut." These days near the National Day, the aroma of "sugar-fried chestnuts" floated from time to time in the dried fruit shop on the roadside, which was irresistible and sweet and sticky when it was hot. Although chestnut belongs to nuts, it is also called "fresh fruit" in nuts because of its rich nutrition and high water content. It is rich in starch, monosaccharide and disaccharide, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, ascorbic acid, protein, fat and inorganic salts. Adults and children eat chestnuts properly in autumn, which is especially helpful for invigorating qi, strengthening spleen and nourishing stomach.

Chestnuts can be eaten raw or cooked. The most common ways to eat chestnuts are "fried with sugar", "stewed chicken with chestnuts", "stewed mutton with chestnuts" and "chestnut cake". However, chestnuts are delicious but difficult to peel. Although the chestnuts with shells you bought can be removed with a knife, it is more troublesome to wrap the thin bag inside the chestnut meat. If you peel it directly by hand or cut it with a knife, it will not only be completely removed, but also make the chestnuts look incomplete.

Below, I will share a method of peeling chestnuts. It is both effective and simple to use. Not only the chestnut skin is easy to remove, but also the peeled chestnut meat is clean and complete. Like a friend might as well try ~

Raw materials: raw chestnuts.

Production method:

Step 1. Put raw chestnuts in clean water, rub chestnuts with both hands constantly, and clean the dust and dirt on the skin.

Step two. Prepare a pair of scissors and draw a cross on the protruding side of the chestnut. [Precautions in this step: the cross should cut the chestnut skin, not the chestnut meat, and the length can be more than one centimeter. ]

Step three. Prepare a steamer, pour in a proper amount of water, and put the flower knife chestnuts on the steamer.

[Note in this step: Let the side of chestnut with "cross" flower knife face up. ]

Step four. Bring to a boil and steam for 3 minutes, then turn off the fire.

Step five. Take the chestnuts out and peel them when they are not hot. Girls with tender skin had better peel chestnuts with scissors. You will find that all the peeled and cut chestnuts are intact.

[Note in this step: If the flower knife is shallow, you can use scissors to "cut" the skin. Otherwise, because chestnuts have only been heated for 3 minutes, the skin is still hard and it is easy to hurt your hands. ]

When buying raw chestnuts at the farmers' market, some vendors will peel chestnuts with a sheller. However, the sheller can't completely remove the skin of chestnuts, and there will be many scratches on the meat of chestnuts. It is the best way to separate the skin and meat of chestnuts by "heating", and this peeling method of "cutting flowers first and steaming for 3 minutes" can keep the nutrition of chestnuts from losing more than boiling in hot water and peeling.

In addition to peeling, the preservation of raw chestnuts is also a difficult problem. Sometimes chestnuts will become very hard, and some will turn black and moldy due to improper preservation. Here, I recommend three ways to preserve chestnuts for a long time ~

1: Preservation of peeled chestnuts

Peel chestnuts with the above method of "steaming for 3 minutes with a meat cutter", put them in a fresh-keeping bag, exhaust air, seal the bag, and then put them in a refrigerator for freezing.

2. Chestnuts are not peeled and kept fresh

Method 1:

Step 1. Wash the raw chestnuts, control the water, put them in a fresh-keeping bag, add 1 spoon of salt, and shake the bag constantly to make the chestnuts and salt fully mixed. [Note in this step: Adding a small amount of salt can prevent chestnuts from turning black and moldy. ]

Step two. Vent the air, then seal the bag tightly and put it in the refrigerator for freezing.

Method 2:

Step 1. After washing the raw chestnuts and controlling the water, use scissors to draw a "cross" flower knife on the chestnut skin. [Note in this step: It is more convenient to draw a flower knife in advance when you take it out to eat. ]

Step two. Put chestnuts in a fresh-keeping bag, let out air, then tie the bag tightly and put it in the refrigerator for freezing.

The above three different methods of freezing chestnuts can keep chestnuts for a long time. Some chestnuts are peeled, some scratched and some shelled. They can take it out at any time according to their own needs, which is not only convenient, but also suitable for different occasions.

Now is the season when chestnuts are mature and affordable, so it is better to buy more. In addition to cooking seasonal delicacies such as "chestnut chicken" and "sugar-fried chestnuts" for family members, you can also use the above methods to preserve chestnuts and take them out for winter and spring, so that the delicious food will last for a long time and the food on the table will change constantly, giving your family a surprise. Please try your favorite friends ~