A Little About Roasting Chestnuts

 

Chestnut Memories

Each year, during my 15 years of living in New York City, that wonderful aroma of chestnuts would waft gently through the crispness of winter. Their mysterious steam added a layer of Christmas to the heightened senses of Big Apple dwellers. I was always surprised at how creamy they were, these chestnuts roasted on an open vendor cart.

Season & Harvest

Chestnuts are available from October through December, henceforth dubbing them a Christmas, not just a cool season crop. They are also, as I just found out from this WZZM13 newscast, a growing crop in Michigan. Michigan has about 50 working chestnut farms right now. How cool is that?

In the newscast, WZZM13 interviewed Winkel Chestnut Farms and I was so fascinated by this new agricultural trend that I decided to give them a call and ask a few questions. The first chestnut lesson that owners Dick and Leslie Winkel taught me was that chestnuts bloom in July and August, but are usually harvested in September or early October. They are then put into cold storage with high humidity for a few months. This type of storage actually acts as a curing process because chestnuts sweeten as they age. Perfect timing for December roasting.

Pesticides & Allergies

The Winkels and I also briefly discussed pesticides, gluten and other allergen cross contamination, and different applications to keep the chestnuts fresh. A common pest is the potato leaf hopper, and most chestnut pests appear in the summer, just as the chestnut flowers / burrs start to form. Some farmers use pesticides, but Winkel Farms keeps bees for pollination, so in order to save the bees, they don't spray.

One of the issues that shocked me in our conversation at first, is that bleach and water is a common anti-mold technique after harvesting and before storage. According to the Food and Agricultural Association of the United Nations, chestnuts are highly susceptable to mold and various techniques are used around the world. Commonly, farmers can dunk the nuts after they fall from the tree into water and bleach to keep fungus at bay. The trees drop the nuts with or without the outer burr, but in the shell, so the meat of the nut is protected from the bleach. How protected is unclear, but the shells are quite tough. There are alternatives to this technique, and not everyone uses bleach in the water. 

Allergy Note: Chestnuts belong to the same botanical family as oak and beech trees do. According to Kids with Food Allergies and FARE chestnuts are considered TREE NUTS. It appears that there are some folks who are only allergic to chestnuts and not other nuts, and others who are able to eat the chestnuts, but not other tree nuts. Tender Foodie will do a little more research on this.

No matter what, however, if you are ALLERGIC to TREE NUTS do not eat chestnuts without discussing with an informed physician and doing adequate allergy testing.

Also, gluten-free peops need to be mindful that cross contamination of nuts with gluten at the processing plant or at a vendor is a possibility.

I discussed with the Winkels how to find chestnuts that have not been cross contaminated with gluten. Their farm is a U-Pick farm so it takes the cross contamination question away -- you go to the farm and pick them up from the ground yourself. The U-Pick season is over, but something to keep in mind for next year. It's always good to develop a relationship with your local farmer and ask them questions about how they grow, store, pack, and process their products. This practice helps support local farms, biodiversity, and ourselves!

"I've been an aerospace engineer all of my life, and I didn't realize how complicated farming was until I started a chestnut farm! I worked my way through college as a crop dusting pilot and my love of light airplanes led me to aerospace engineering. The crop dusting gave me an interest in agriculture. It's been important to get the chestnut farm working. I don't know why except for the little voices in my head in the middle of the night. I had to pay attention to the call of the chestnuts."

~Dick Winkel, Winkel Chestnut Farms

Nutrition

Chestnuts have less fat and more starch than regular nuts, and are more like a sweet potato in starch content than a nut. They are relatively low in calories but rich in minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, phosphorous, and potassium. Chestnuts, like green leafy vegetables and unlike most nuts, are also rich in folates, B Complex groups, and Vitamin C. Like other seeds and nuts, they are also full of bad cholesterol lowering (and good cholesterol raising) monounsaturated fats, like oleic acid.

Additionally, these little nuts make a great flour for gluten-free or grain-free baking, if you can find it. Oh yes they do.

How to Roast Chestnuts

Because of my wheat allergy and severe gluten sensitivity, I no longer can partake of those great street chestnuts in those romantic cities around the world. The risk of cross contamination is too great. But, we can roast them ourselves, can't we?

Here's how:

Choose chestnuts from a local farmer with whom you can discuss the risk of cross contamination. Fresh chestnuts are heavy for their size, glossy (not moldy), and rich in color. Score them (create little incisions in them with a knife) before roasting at an oven temp of 350 - 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The nuts have their own oils so you don’t need to use any oils during roasting. Martha Stewart has a simple, beautiful set of instructions here, and suggests a 350 degree roasting temp. Peel, salt (or don’t salt), and enjoy.

Want to grow some trees? Read this cool article on how to do so from Mother Earth News. Interesting tidbit: you need at least two chestnut trees to pollinate and 40 feet around each tree!

Read More About Local

Two Advantages of Buying from Small, Local Farms

2014 Locavore Index: See How Your State Ranks

Check Out Winkel Farms

Website

Facebook Page

Order Online from Allen Creek Farms

Labeled as gluten-free and still available as of this post date

Opinons on Food Allergies in Schools. Journalism or Narcissim?

The Reason for the Rant

I don't often rant or use this blog for that purpose. I feel that there is enough "opinion" out there. Uninformed opinion that is geared to gain attention and attract traffic. What the world needs now, is not ranting, but sound information that we can use, and that is what I strive to do.

However, there have been several opinion pieces about food allergies recently that deserve a response. The piece that spurred me to rant today was posted in the Huffington Post Blog (click link to read the article) yesterday by an author who is very upset. Her daughter can't have a birthday cake in school because of "those" kids with food allergies. The author herself has an egg white allergy, and when she was a child she knew a peanut-allergic girl who had died from eating a Twix candy bar containing traces of peanuts. She acknowleges the "skyrocketing number of food allergies and intolerances" (then proceeds to improperly diagnose), yet, she still believes that what works for her, an adult, and what worked for food allergic kids when she was growing up, should still work for kids today.

• Even though the number of people with allergies, sensitivities, and celiac disease have skyrocketed, gotten more complex, and the reactions more varied and sometimes more severe.
• Even though many kids could have damaged intestines from celiac, tummy aches, headaches, flu-like symptoms, long-term complications... and that we should care about this suffering as well.
• Even though some kids are so sensitive that having allergens in the air could cause a reaction.
• Even though kids are dying from anaphylaxis at such a rate that state governements are enacting laws for schools to allow trained personnel to use emergency autoinjectors.
• Even though the CDC just released a guide for schools to help them naviagate this complex problem.
• Even though life threatening food allergies and celiac disease are considered a disability by the American with Disabilities Act, section 504
  
• Even though 25% of emergency epinephrine injections given in schools involved kids who did not know they had an allergy at the time and that more than 15% of school-aged children with food allergies have had a reaction in school.
• Even though what worked when the author was growing up did not work very well. A little girl died.

The complete lack of compassion in this article is what spurred me to respond to the post, and also post it here, because I know that this author is not alone in her frustration. Sometimes a person can become so annoyed with day-to-day circumstances that they don't realize that they are being a real jerk. It's OK to be frustrated, it is a frustrating problem to have the basic needs and joys like food banned in schools, and we should listen to those who are frustrated. But sometimes people don't think beyond their emotion to realize that there is a lot more research to be done before drawing such an opinionated conclusion in public. I'm hoping that this is the case for this author, and I'm hoping that my passionate response to the article will help educate others who might feel the way that she does. I hope that this exchange will spur this discussion about food in schools to a much, much higher level.

A friend of this blog said it best: A school is a place of learning. This parent is missing a wonderful, teachable moment of putting others' needs first, and she is placing her convenience over the needs of a child. Another Tender Friend who has no food issues in her family offered that there are many, creative ways to celebrate a birthday, like bubbles and silly string (although these would have to be checked for allergens, too). On that wonderful creative note - what about taking silly pictures with your classmates? Writing a poem to celebrate the birthday boy or girl? These are things that can have a lasting, positive impression for everyone in class. These are activities that teach real emotional, mental and physical skills as well as celebrate the occasion. What a wonderful thing to walk away from your birthday celebration with such solid memories to keep for years to come. What joy!

Further, what a wonderful thing to think beyond ourselves, since this often spurs us to some of our most creative thinking! I personally can't stand seeing even one little kid feeling ostracized or alone because of quirks, religious orientation, race, creed, disability, family problems, or food issues - especially when just a little creative thinking and care can help grow loving and confident kids who feel like they belong.

This is a world community problem and a local community problem. It isn't about you. It isn't about me. It's about taking care of each other, caring for each other, and solving a very, very tough problem together.

So here is my rant. Feel free to rant back.

"While I empathize with the author's frustration, I think it is unwise to post an article in such a public forum based solely upon opinion, and personal experience, feelings and frustration; and without proper journalistic research. This article doesn't take into account the incredible rise in serious allergies, the rise in deaths from the same, the rise in other types of food reactions that kids are having to multiple foods. It also has no sympathy or regard for the kid that might have intestinal damage because of celiac disease, or flu like symptoms or a tummy ache because of sensitivities or slow onset allergies. It also discusses children as if they were adults, capable of making the same type of rational, spur of the moment decisions necessary to turn down that brownie. Kids don't know brownies are made w/ egg. Kids also are very physical - they kiss, hug, tumble, throw or even spit food in play. I empathize more with schools who have to figure out what is safe for their students and what is appropriate action to take so that each child is cared for, than with parents who no longer can make cupcakes. And I love cupcakes. I empathize with the parents of FA kids who put their kids into the hands of uneducated people every day. The kindest of people can make a mistake, and that is the sad part of this all. No one intends to harm with food. Food should be good for us and delicious and enjoyable. But the reality is that millions of people are having several different types of immune reactions to it. So something is wrong.

We are a community, and this is a community problem. We can't take the narcissistic position of, "I"m sick of this" and serve the solution to this growing problem appropriately."

Sincerely,

Elisabeth Veltman

The Tender Foodie

Learn more about this subject

What is a Food Allergy, Anyway?  A list of food reactions and what they mean.

The CDC Guide for Managing Food Allergies in Schools:  an excellent guide for schools and parents.

Emergency Auto-Injector Law Has Passed

How Can Parents Feel Less Stress with a Food Allergic Child in School?: Interview with Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP, of www.mymunchbug.com

Be True to Your Heart, Dear Celiac: an excellent post by Brandy Wendler, RN, MSN, ACNP-BC, spokesperson for celiac disease and heart disease, and Ms. Northwest Territories Intl.

Still More ...

Should Anyone Eat Gluten? (Part 1) Interview with world-renowned researcher, Alessio Fasano, MD

How to Get Tested For Celiac Disease (Part 2) Interview with world-renowned researcher, Alessio Fasano, MD

Gluten Sensitivity, a New Food "Allergy" (Part 3) Interview with world-renowned researcher, Alessio Fasano, MD

Other Responses to This Article

Food Allergies in the Classroom: Using Science and Empathy to Drive Your Cupcake Decisions
  by Sheela Raja, PhD in the Huffington Post, Feb. 24, 2014

Ice. The Diamonds of Cuisine: Interview with Randy Finch, Ice Guru

Randy Finch in a photograph by Steph Harding from 2012

PHOTOGRAPHS BY STEPH HARDING

Interview by Elisabeth Veltman

Chef, artist, TV personality, and chainsaw genius, Randy Finch, along with his partner Derek Maxfield, have come to embody the words, “ice” and “art.” Their team has been featured on the Discovery Channel; are in “Ripley’s Believe it Or Not”, and were featured in a show called “Ice Brigade” on The Food Network. I had the privilege to catch Randy for a chat, and visit his very “cool” studio with Steph Harding, photographer, for a fun departure from our regularly scheduled subject matter (food allergies).  

TENDERFOODIE:  Ice sculpture has rather utilitarian roots didn’t it?  But, within a century it became quite an elaborate art form.  When did the art of ice sculpture really begin?

RANDY:  The beginning is debatable. The first documented ice sculpture, was the famous ice palace of 1740, commissioned As seen in Women's Lifestyle Magazine, June 2013by Empress Anna Ivanovna of Russia. She had commissioned this palace and staged a mock wedding there.

TENDERFOODIE:  I read about that! She forced some guy she was angry with to marry one of her servants, spend the entire night in the palace, and expected them to sleep on a bed made of pure ice.

RANDY: Yes! I actually have an original article about this from 1741. It was published in a gentleman’s magazine at the time. The palace was quite elaborate, with trees, birds, and an elephant all made of ice.  

TENDERFOODIE:  Wow.  Tell us more about how ice sculpture has evolved since then.

RANDY:  Mostly, ice was used to keep food cool on the table, and it evolved into art. This was a technique used in the creation of Peach Melba. In fact, they originally used ice swans to display that dessert.

TENDERFOODIE:  Oh, Peach Melba! Created for the legendary opera singer, Nelly Melba, correct?

RANDY:  That is correct.  In the early 1900’s, ice chandeliers, fountains and elaborate sculptures became more common. The quality sagged off in the U.S. for a while, and now it is coming full circle, and more elaborate sculptures are once again becoming common.

TENDERFOODIE:  Why the resurgence?  

RANDY:  People are looking for unique and different things today. Until recent years, it wasn’t just elaborate sculptures that took time; simple products did as well. For instance we used to hand produce little sorbet dishes made of ice, and each would cost at least $35. New technology allows us to make them more quickly and at much less cost. We were the first to use computerized equipment in the U.S. We started using it in Grand Rapids, MI, three months ahead of Las Vegas!

TENDERFOODIE:  Seriously?  How did this happen?

RANDY:  We’ve been in the business for a long time and have many personal relationships in the ice business. We knew the guy who was making the equipment in Canada, and had first dibs.

TENDERFOODIE:  What other products come from this equipment?

RANDY: We can make large bins of ice that hold ice cream for parties, dishes, drink dispensers, and parts for drink luges where the party guest can interact with the sculpture. That is our niche: Interactive ice sculpture that is both functional and beautiful.

TENDERFOODIE:  I saw a video of the ice desk that you did, and oh that grand piano that actually plays, and the pool table! What other interactive sculptures do you do?

RANDY:  The desk was for a Food Network executive. That was really fun. One of the most outrageous projects was a 30-foot long mousetrap game that included a double, fully functional Ferris wheel, and a cannon that lights up and fires. It is based upon the concept of Rube Goldberg, an artist that did drawings of very elaborate ways of doing the simplest things. We did the Mousetrap game for a show called “Recreation Nation” on the Discovery Channel.

TENDERFOODIE: I saw your mousetrap sculpture on YouTube. Truly amazing. Is this your favorite project?

RANDY:  The double Ferris wheel is nearest and dearest to my heart. It actually made it into Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.  But other than that, the next project is always my favorite, whatever the next project might be. We recently did a 32-foot ice dessert bar and a live performance. We created an ice motorcycle with live pyrotechnics coming from the tail pipe right on stage. We are doing a lot more live performance shows as well. We love doing them.

TENDERFOODIE:  You are a chef, and artist, and you must be an engineer of sorts to do what you do. How did you go from chef to an ice sculptor wielding a chain saw?

RANDY: Well, I also studied architecture, and we are known for our power tools. In fact we often choose the chainsaw or drill, even if a chisel is easier! But I did start out as a chef. I went to culinary school and worked as a private chef for Jay Van Andel for quite some time. I was the chef at Cygnus and for Peter Island Resort. My culinary training helps make for great relationships with chefs. I know how to design for any food without being taught. If the chef wants a caviar station, then I know we also need to accommodate blini, and how to design any sculpture so that it works for whatever food creation the chef can dream up.

TENDERFOODIE: What does an ice sculptor do in the summer?

RANDY: One of the biggest things we do in summer is sell our scrap ice, because it melts so much more slowly than regular cubed ice. Fishermen and tailgaters drop off their coolers on Monday, and pick them up on Friday for the weekend.  As we do weddings and graduation sculptures, we throw the extra into their coolers. We are also doing sculpture for Kid Rock backstage.

TENDERFOODIE:  Tell me, ice & cold are rather counter-intuitive symbols of romance. Why do you think it has come to be so closely connected with celebrations and love?

RANDY:  There is a simple elegance to ice. It is artistic. Art and romance have always gone together.  Ice sculpture is created for one, single event. It’s just for you. Ice swans, for instance, are typical sculptures for weddings because they mate for life.  Ice is sensuous. It has clarity and a slickness. Like a diamond, the light gives the sculpture a life of its own.  Like life itself, the ice sculpture transforms the entire time it exists. That’s why people love it and that’s why I love working with it.

 See more about Randy and his team...

About Elisabeth

Owner of Blue Pearl Strategies, Elisabeth is also The Tender Foodie. She started this blog and The Tender Palate, to help those food allergies and sensitivities.

Recipe: Almond Cognac Truffles

 

 PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JEFF HAGE, GREEN FROG PHOTO

BY ELISABETH VELTMAN, THE TENDER FOODIE

What would Valentine's Day be without chocolate?  It would be the day I made the front page of the New York Times ("Single Gal Sets Hallmark Store on Fire").  My love affair w/ this beautiful bean began many moons ago, and has evolved to accommodate the onset of dairy and now, tapioca allergies (tapioca is used in place of soy lecithin in soy-free chocolate). Thanks to a few forward thinking chocolatiers, there are truly dairy-free, even soy-free choices out there, the quality of which, make excellent truffles.

Truffles, in my opinion, are the quintessential gift, though I do confess that these don't always make it to the intended recipient.  This recipe is my favorite.  It combines a soft, sensuous center that leaves you a little buzzed, cupped by a hard chocolate shell waiting to be snapped.  Yeah, they taste as sexy as they sound. Go forth Lovers, make them, eat them, and be ... inspired.

RECIPE:  ALMOND COGNAC TRUFFLES

Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free, Egg-free
Copyright, Elisabeth Veltman, The Tender Palate

INGREDIENTS

10 oz. of dairy-free bittersweet chocolate – chopped in small chunks for the ganache
6 more oz. tempered for the ganache (see below)
8 more oz. tempered for the coating (see below)

Recommended brands:  Enjoy Life Bittersweet Chocolate Chunks (made w/o soy, but w/ tapioca)  or Callebaut Bittersweet Chocolate (made w/ soy lecithin)

½ cup of coconut cream (measured after the fat is stirred in)
    (Recommended Brand: Thai East Coconut Milk)

1 TBS of coconut oil (melted)

2 tsp. of almond extract (gluten-free)

4 TBS of cognac (pure distilled)

½ cup of granulated sugar (for sprinkling)

MAKE THE GANACHE

Place 10 oz. of chopped chocolate into a medium-sized bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the coconut cream just to a boil and immediately pour over the chocolate chunks.  Add the coconut oil.  Shake to evenly coat, and then cover the bowl with a plate to seal in the steam.  This will melt the chocolate.  Ignore for 10-15 minutes, and then whisk the mixture vigorously until there are no lumps and the chocolate has a lovely shine to it.  Whisk in the cognac and the almond extract.  

Temper 6 oz. of chocolate: As you wait for ganache to melt together (above), place 6 additional oz. (3/4 c.) of chocolate chunks into a Pyrex* measuring cup and place into the microwave for 20 seconds.  Stir, even if the chunks aren’t melted yet.  Place the chocolate back into the microwave for 20 more seconds, and then stir again.  Repeat this until the chocolate melts at 15-second intervals.  When all of the chocolate is melted and stirred, you have tempered chocolate.  This will add to the texture of the truffles.  Add this to the Ganache and whisk until the shiny again.

At this point, place your ganache, covered, in the refrigerator to firm up for an hour or over night.  

*Use the Pyrex brand of measuring cup, since it conducts heat evenly.  Some containers will burn the chocolate in the microwave.

ROLL & COAT

Temper another 8 oz. of chocolate chunks in the microwave, using the same method above, but set aside.  

Remove the ganache from the refrigerator.  If it is too hard, simply let it sit for 30 minutes.  With a small melon baller, tiny ice cream scoop, or a spoon, scoop out the ganache and roll in your hands to make a small, round ball.  Continue until the ganache is all balled up.  Place each ball on a plate with an inch of space around each one.  The carefully spoon the last batch of tempered chocolate over the top of each ball so that it seeps over the top and down the side and creates an upside down cup.  Place the plate(s) of truffles in the refrigerator to set for about 30 minutes.  When the chocolate is set (the outer coating will be hard, and the filling will be firm but soft) turn each truffle over and sprinkle the ganache filling with sugar.  

Serve cold or at room temperature.  Best to store covered in the refrigerator.

About the Author

Writer, owner of Blue Pearl Strategies, and lover of all culinary delights, Elisabeth is a Tender Foodie. She started The Tender Palate, a website for foodies with food allergies where she consults with experts from every area of the Tender Foodie life. She believes that everyone should live deliciously and have a healthy seat at the table. Find her at www.tenderpalate.com.

Six Tips to Help You Stick To Your Eating Plan During the Holidays

From Guest Blogger & Registered Dietician, David Fisher, R.D. of Fish & Forage

True, people all over the world claim they will stick to their diets through the holidays. Most people won’t, especially when their reasons for dieting in the first place are vague and their goals, well, nonexistent. You, however, are different. You aren’t on a “diet,” but instead have chosen a specific way of eating to avoid allergens or to manage chronic disease (with the GAPS diet, for example). In cases like this you need to stick to your eating plan. Yet temptations abound during the holidays and mistakes, often costly, can happen. Here are five tips to stick to your plan through the holidays.

1.    Have a plan - If you read only one tip, read this one.

This adage rings true: failing to plan is planning to fail. A plan can be as formal or informal as you’d like.

Some people will sit down and write a plan formally, while others will simply think it over for a few minutes. Both approaches are fine! Be sure to cover things like handling family gatherings, work parties, cravings, what you’ll do when presented with your favorite off-limits dessert/drink/side dish, etc. Get creative, but be thorough! Be sure to plan in safe treats to avoid feeling deprived and to have something to look forward to.

2.    Bring food

This is the only sure fire way to know you’re safe eating the food. Most likely, no one will notice that you only ate what you brought, especially if you brought multiple dishes.  Remember, you can’t be completely sure what ingredients someone has used in a dish.  Even if you ask them, they might forget to mention that tablespoon of nut flour; or they may not realize that soy sauce is gluten-filled, or that the butter substitute they used actually contains dairy.  So especially if you are highly allergic, bring your own food.

3.    Eat before the party

Tell people you already ate. This may sound like a cop out, but it is believable on days like Christmas when people go from party to party.


4.    Pull out the allergy card

When offered something off limits, revealing that you have an allergy to an ingredient is not only smart, but also very effective. People are becoming more aware of the different allergic or adverse reactions to food.  If you’ve known the person for a while and this is new, explain that you recently discovered the problem.

5.    Bring your auto-injector

If you are at risk of anaphylactic shock, remember your auto-injector/ Epi-Pen, just in case you ingest something unexpected that gives you an allergic reaction.


6.    Make a commitment

It’s simple. Make a plan (step 1) and stick to it! Having the route mapped out makes it easy to commit to staying on the path. Challenge yourself and be proud when you succeed! A plan makes it much easier to stay safe and healthy.

If you are on a healing diet, and you need extra inspiration, hold yourself accountable by telling others about your commitment. Involving the threat of losing something precious (like money) may help. For example, tell your best friend about the plan and that you’ll give $100 to her (or perhaps charity) if you break your plan. Ultimately reminding yourself why you need to eat this way should help you push beyond any challenges.

Consider yourself ready to attack the holiday season even if you need to avoid certain foods. Remember that enjoying time with loved ones should be a major goal during the holidays and you can certainly achieve that no matter what you are eating. Happy holidays!

About the Author

David Fisher, R.D. is a registered dietitian with a deep interest in ancestral health. His own ongoing battle with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, an autoimmune condition, has given him a unique perspective and has allowed him to apply the principles of the autoimmune paleo protocol in order to maximize his own health. In his practice, he applies autoimmune paleo and other similar protocols to help patients manage autoimmune diseases.

David holds a bachelors in Management from St Louis University and completed my nutrition training, including dietetic internship, at the University of Nevada, Reno.  He is a Registered Dietitian with the American Dietetic Association.

More from David

Can Spices in Our Food Relieve Inflammation?