Sweet Chestnuts


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Today on our country lane car ride, on the Stafford and Shropshire border, we turned down a road to escape the traffic, it was called The Old Chester road, about 4 miles from Newport. We came up on Sweet Chestnut trees as laden as i have never seen before. There must have been a dozen or so on the sides of the road. Many more across the fields, as far as we could see. The branches were weighed down with the spiky shells. Not quite ripe yet, but we will be going back with our carrier bags, wellies and gloves in a couple of weeks time. We travel these roads yearly and we have never seen anything like it before. Does anyone know if it is a bumper year every where or just to the area mentioned?

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Send me the directions please. (Love roast Cheggers does I ) Boil them for a bit first then cook them in the frying pan over an open fire. (That's all I use our fire for, toast and Marshmallows too!)

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My husband loves Kent Cobs and has been down Vic Market 3 times this week to buy a load. He had me trawling the Internet a couple of weeks ago and found a supplier (in Kent strangely enough!). This chap was advertising cob nuts for sale and delivery but stated that 20 kgs was the minimum order, haha! Probably best to keep going down the market for his fix me thinks, seeing as we haven't got room to store 20 kgs.

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It will be a bumper year I think Carni. I noticed a beechnut tree close to us absolutely loaded. Our apple trees and blackberry bushes are the same. The weather mix has been ideal this year.

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Beefsteak #2

This is the best we can do for you.

The road with the nut trees (near Lodge Farm) is the B5314

If you join it from the Newport (Shropshire) end, off the A41, for some reason it's called Plough Bank

If you join it from the Western under Lizard end, off the A5, approx 300yds from guest entrance to Western Park, it is called the Chester Road.

Probably easier to buy some, not as much fun though. PS leave me some.

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I was only joking sweetie. Then again , if we do manage another camping trip down that way whilst the weather holds I shall certainly go looking for it ta.

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Here we go

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/beefsteak44/9874371683/" title="cheggers by Beefsteak44, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3793/9874371683_d37a0129c3_o.jpg" width="1600" height="791" alt="cheggers"></a>

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PSSST this lot on here are too thick to be able to read a map................(Runs away quickly waiting for the excrement to strike the oscillator!)

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Damn it.

I wanted to go scrumping this year, but I can't find a blackberry bush near me with easy enough access.

No apple tree's either as far as I know.

I love scrumping, I make crumbles & fat balls for the birds full of berries, ones we eat and their wild ones.

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Come and get the Blackberries out of my back garden, the brambles have run riot this year! We must have cut out 50 foot of the stuff between us and there's at least the same amount still in there!

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Freeze em! Then in the winter mix em up with some mealworms, lard and oats. Birds will love em!

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Alternatively, Apple and Blackberry Crumble!

The kids always come in from playing out there with stains round their chops , so it's just perceivable there may be a few left for the birds to winter on!

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  • 1 year later...

Remember last year. We discovered a country lane with an abundance of Sweet Chestnut Trees. I knew that they would fall round about Goose Fair time, because as children, we used to pick them of the ground on our exit from the Fair. Well. We left it a week to late, and when we went to collect them someone had been there before us and had the lot. Today we went back and just look at this lovely free gift from Nature. I suppose I have to share now! one for you, two for me!

Sorry it hasn't copied...image to follow.DSCF1725.jpg

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I boil them snip the end of squeeze out the puree chop up some raw ones

and make chestnut stuffing for Christmas. Freeze it.

Sorry did I say the word Christmas.

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In our house at Aspley, there used to be a cast iron fire with oven and a grate guard made in a grill pattern, ideal for roasting chestnuts. I well remember the smell of them roasting and the sound of them 'whistling' as they cooked. They always caused a laugh if they exploded and sent 'shrapnel' scattering everywhere.

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Sounds familiar Tomlinson,

we had the same sort of fire, mam always told us to slit the end

but the lads didn't. They thought it was so funny when we all dived for cover.

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Used to love going 'nuttin' as a kid, thanks for the pic Carni, quite an arty-farty arrangement. Don't know if you intended it, but I like it!

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Yup Katyjay, I did my bit of arty-farty specially for you all. Not bad Aye, Glad you like it. It looks really nice on the table, so I will leave it there a while. The pic came out a bit big on my post. I seem to have lost the Knack. Remembering the words on my School reports....Must Try Harder!

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Carni, I have a recipe for Chestnut Cheesecake which uses chestnut puree if you want to follow SueB's method and sweeten it with icing sugar

9oz Digestive Biscuits

2oz Butter - Melted

1lb 2oz (500 g) Cream Cheese

4.5oz Caster Sugar

3 Eggs + 3 Egg Yolks

6fl oz (175ml) Crème Fraiche

2 tsp Lemon Juice

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 tbsp Brandy

12oz Sweetened Chestnut Puree

Maple Syrup, to drizzle

9in springform round cake tin

Heat oven to 140C (120C fan oven) 275F Gas 1

For the base crush the biscuits and stir into the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the tin and refrigerate.

Put all the ingredients for the filling into a bowl and beat together (or whizz up in a processor) until smooth.

Pour on top of the biscuit base.

Place a roasting tin half filled with water in the bottom of the oven, the steam will prevent the cheesecake from cracking.

Place the cheesecake on the middle shelf and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool in the fridge.

Serve drizzled with maple syrup.

Enjoy

(I also have a recipe for Gateau Mont Blanc, which I believe is meringue based and absolutely scrummy but it is at home. I'll post it when I am home next.)

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Sounds familiar Tomlinson,

we had the same sort of fire, mam always told us to slit the end

but the lads didn't. They thought it was so funny when we all dived for cover.

Another thing about those grates but nothing to do with chestnuts. Sometimes, how or why I don't know, there appeared on the bars something that looked like burnt paper fluttering away. If this happened it was always said, "There's a stranger on the bar". Does this ring any bells with anyone?

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