Freezing chestnuts - three ways to prepare them

Freezing chestnuts - instructions and practical tips

Freezing chestnuts - these options are available

There are several methods of freezing chestnuts:

raw or cooked
with or without a shell
"Pre-fried"
blanched

Freeze chestnuts raw and with their skin on

The easiest and fastest way to freeze chestnuts is to leave them raw, with their peel, and put in the form in the freezer (in vacuum-sealed freezer bags). If you want to use them later, roast the delicacies while still frozen in the oven or let them thaw for an hour so that they can then be processed as desired.

Tips

In general (for every variant of this guide), it is advisable to cut into the chestnuts with a sharp knife before freezing them. For this purpose, scratch a small cross on the curved side of each chestnut. By cutting, you will find it easier to peel the chestnuts as you go.

Freeze the chestnuts blanched and peeled

This method is useful if you want to cook the chestnuts peeled later. The slightly higher effort before freezing is offset afterwards when it comes to preparing and enjoying.

Score the chestnuts.
Blanch them for 10 to 20 minutes. The boiling or simmering time depends on the freshness of the chestnuts. The following applies: the fresher they are, the shorter this step takes (ten minutes for very fresh chestnuts, 20 minutes for older specimens). Alternatively, you can bake your chestnuts in the oven for half an hour at 180 degrees Celsius.
Let the chestnuts cool for a few minutes.
Peel them. To do this, drive a small kitchen knife into the incised cross. Make sure to also remove the brown skin under the peel (bitter taste).
Put the peeled chestnuts on a grid. There they dry and continue to cool.
Put the chestnuts in freezer bags (or freezer cans) in portions. Don't put too many chestnuts in a bag - portion them so that each chestnut has some space.
Remove air from the bags - with a vacuum sealer or by mouth.
Close the freezer bag tightly (airtight!).
Put the bags in the freezer.

"Pre-fry" chestnuts before freezing

In order to have little work after freezing, the following variant is advisable:

Cut in the chestnuts.
Fry them almost done.
Let the chestnuts cool down.
Put them in freezer bags (don't forget to vacuum them).
Now the bags can be put in the freezer.
If you fancy chestnuts, take a load out of the chest, let them thaw, peel them and fry them for about ten minutes. Then they are ready to eat.

Interesting facts about freezing chestnuts

Special fact: Based on experience, some amateur cooks and experts are of the opinion that the taste of the chestnuts is even better when they are frozen. Farmers once said that chestnuts needed a frosty night before they were collected from the ground.

Chestnuts can be kept for up to twelve months in the freezer.