Chestnuts and castagnaccio, the Royals of the entroterra

Chestnut trees have presided the Ligurian entroterra since the early Middle Ages. Known as the “alberi del pane” (i.e., bread trees), they were the first icons of the no waste movement and the providers of one of the staple foods of the Apennines.

  

Chestnuts (marroni cultivar) suit candying

Chestnuts in Liguria: a long-lasting love affair

Chestnuts, a Mediterranean icon. Along the Apennines, 20 kilograms were the wage for a day’s work. They were ritually milled during a full moon (to fight flour moths).

Liguria boasts several cultivars, especially in north-facing areas where woods are more humid.

The “alberi del pane” (i.e., bread trees) were one of the favourite subjects of novelists, poets and painters.

Few years ago, a pathogen agent from China put harvests under threat: it was defeated, so to say, by the introduction of an antagonist hymenoptera.

Since the Early Middle Ages, chestnut groves have presided Liguria far beyond 1,000 m. elevations, thanks to favourable pedoclimatic conditions (potassium-rich soil and climate). During the Napoleonic age, cultivation area was estimated a total 200,000 hectares.

 

Chestnut trees – a Mediterranean no-waste icon

Chestnut trees were the first icons of the “no waste” movement. No part of the plant was in fact thrown away. In the Stura Valley “erburu” (local dialect for albero, i.e., tree) quintessentially indicates chestnut trees (elsewhere the term relates to olive trees).

Harvesting was fast – the last phase of the farming season – and drying (an ancient preserving technique) marked the start of long evenings spent by the fireplace during freezing winters. Low quality, damaged chestnuts were given to pigs and hens, whereas the best fruits were reserved for the table.

Among the several chestnut cultivars, marroni are the best pick for candying – they are in fact bigger than average fruits.

 

From “bread of the poor” to gourmet treat

The “bread of the poor” features high nutritive values. Chestnuts can be enjoyed fresh or dried: roasted, boiled, cooked into milk, glazed, as a side dish for meat dishes, cheese…).

The Genoese entroterra provides an array of recipes such as “castagne grasse” (pork rinds, chestnuts and cabbages), a hearty soup from the Scrivia and Polcevera Valleys usually prepared on January 17^th to celebrate Sant’Antonio, the patron saint of butchers…

Chestnut flour is the basis – or the partner – of enticing rural treats such as fresh pasta picagge and trofiette matte, pan martin (bread prepared on November 11^th), castagnacci tarts, Easter colombe, canestrelli... Back in 1863, Giobatta Ratto, author of the “Cuciniera Genovese” recipe book, expressed his appreciation for chestnut flour.

 

My English abstract of the article by Umberto Curti as published on Liguria Food  

Luisa Puppo

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http://www.liguriafood.it/2020/12/23/castagne-e-castagnaccio/