It took me a while to not be intimidated by chestnuts. For years, I’d see them at the market during the holidays and think, “Those look so good,” and then walk past them because I didn’t want to deal with peeling them.
The few times I tried, I’d end up with mangled chestnuts, sore fingers, and a lot of frustration. But once I figured out this method, everything changed!
With the holiday season upon us and fresh chestnuts hitting the supermarkets, I thought it would be a good time to share this easy way to prepare chestnuts for cooking. You can use peeled chestnuts in stuffings, desserts, sticky rice dishes, and soups.
You don’t need this post until you need it, but when you do, you’ll be glad it’s here!
The Key: Don’t Overcook Them
Here’s the thing about learning how to prepare chestnuts for peeling: you don’t want to overcook them.
If you boil them for too long, they’ll turn mushy and fall apart when you try to remove the shells. We’re just softening them enough to make peeling manageable, not cooking them through.
Why Bother Peeling Chestnuts?
My neighbor has two large chestnut trees in his yard (lucky him—and us!), and he stores his chestnuts both whole and peeled in the freezer. You definitely need whole chestnuts for roasting—there’s nothing quite like roasted chestnuts on a cold day. But peeled chestnuts have so many culinary applications.
We have a braised chicken with chestnuts recipe on the blog that’s absolutely delicious. Cantonese cooks use peeled chestnuts in soups, especially in those nourishing winter soups my mother-in-law makes. Chestnuts are also a common addition to sticky rice dishes, like zongzi (joong).
And then there are all those sweet chestnut desserts where the chestnuts are puréed and thickened, similar to how you’d prepare sweet red bean paste, lotus seed paste, or pumpkin paste.
Plus, there are Western applications—stuffing, soups, risottos, desserts, and Sarah even told me chestnuts can be used in Italian pastas! Once you have peeled chestnuts on hand, you’ll find yourself using them in all sorts of dishes.
How to Prepare Chestnuts: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Soak the Chestnuts
Rinse your chestnuts under cold water, then submerge them in a bowl of water and let them soak for 30-60 minutes. This softens the shells and makes them much easier to cut and peel.
(If your chestnut shells are already quite soft, you can skip this step, but I find it’s worth doing most of the time.)
Step 2: Score the Chestnuts
After soaking, the shells will be softened, making them easier to work with. Now you need to score each chestnut. You can either:
Carefully cut an “X” on the curved side of each chestnut with a sharp paring knife (or in our case, a chestnut knife that our neighbor kindly gave us).
Alternatively, you can use kitchen scissors to trim off the “butt” end of the chestnut—the lighter brown part opposite the pointy end. This method can be a bit trickier if you’re not as confident with kitchen shears.
Try not to cut too deeply into the chestnut’s flesh—just through the shell and that papery inner skin. And please, be careful not to cut yourself! Chestnuts can be slippery, so take your time.
A Note on Chestnut Knives
In the photos for this post, you’ll see we’re using a chestnut knife. It’s admittedly a single-use item, but it’s really helpful for scoring chestnuts safely and efficiently. A sharp paring knife works as an alternative, but the chestnut knife’s curved blade is specifically designed for this task and makes the job much easier. If chestnuts are an annual tradition in your house, it may be worth the investment!
Step 3: Boil Briefly
Put all the scored chestnuts in a pot and cover them completely with water. Put the lid on and bring everything to a boil over high heat.
Once the water is boiling, let the chestnuts boil for 3 minutes. If you have extra-large chestnuts, give them 5 minutes. Remember—we’re not cooking them through, just making them easier to peel!
Step 4: Peel While Hot
Remove the pot from the heat. Here’s the crucial part: chestnuts must be peeled while they’re very warm. Once they cool down, the inner skin sticks to the flesh and becomes nearly impossible to remove. In other words, allow them to cool just until you can handle them (they should be very warm, but not so hot that you burn yourself!)
Take just a few chestnuts out of the pot onto a clean kitchen towel to peel, and keep the rest in the pot with the lid on to stay warm.
Work through your small batch, then take out a few more. Repeat until all the chestnuts are peeled. You should be able to remove both the hard outer shell and that papery brown skin underneath.
Tip!
If you have more than a pound or two to peel, boil them in batches. The water will cool quickly while you’re peeling, and you might not finish before the water cools completely.
Step 5: Use or Freeze
Once peeled, you can use your chestnuts right away in your recipe. Or, to freeze them for later (which is what I do), simply place the peeled chestnuts in a zip-lock bag or freezer-proof container. They’ll keep in the freezer for up to a year, ready whenever you want to add them to sticky rice, a braise, or soup.
Now that you know how to prepare chestnuts, you’ll find they’re not nearly as intimidating as they seem. Yes, there’s a little bit of work involved, but once you have a stash of peeled chestnuts in your freezer, you’ll be so glad you did it. Happy cooking!
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Recipe
How to Peel Chestnuts
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh chestnuts
- water (for boiling)
Instructions
- Rinse your chestnuts under cold water, then submerge them in a bowl of water and let them soak for 30-60 minutes.
- Carefully cut an "X" on the curved side of each chestnut with a sharp paring knife (or, preferably, a chestnut knife), scoring only the shell, not the chestnut underneath.
- Put all the scored chestnuts in a pot and cover them with water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 3 minutes, or 5 minutes for very large chestnuts.
- Remove the pot from the heat. When they're just cooled enough to handle, but still very warm, take just a few chestnuts out of the pot onto a clean kitchen towel to peel (keep any you're not working on covered with the kitchen towel), and keep the rest in the pot with the lid on to stay warm. Work through your small batch, then take out a few more. Repeat until all the chestnuts are peeled. You should be able to remove both the hard outer shell and that papery brown skin underneath.
