[quote=“Dream of Stars, post:18, topic:238”][quote author=yarrow dreamer link=topic=241.msg2559#msg2559 date=1182895550]
I gathered a huge shirt-hem full of local chestnuts, but they tasted terrrible. a friend said the one who fathers her, who tends sheep and lives in trees in the basque country, calls them pilongos (spelling?). i looked for more info online and found out that in some countries, people use that word as an insult. hm.
their skin shone smooth & almost glossy instead of slightly hairy–that’s where I went wrong. otherwise they looked the same as chestnuts. disappointing, that tree drops zillions of them and they look so tasty. . .
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The Horse Chestnut, and the Ohio Buckeye are both inedible, so be careful when thinking this may be the edible chestnut. It’s easy to tell them apart when you know what to look for. The main difference, I think (let me know if wrong) is that the Buckeyes are shiny and larger, rounder, and with a larger “tan” bottom, while the edible chestnuts are smaller, pointier on top, and more dull brown, and sometimes flat on a side due to having two in a pod… that’s what I remember being told at least…[/quote]
This reminds me. I roasted sweet chestnuts for the first time this fall-summer in my oven by following and combining 6 recipes I research online. The finished dish reminded me of lil baked sweet potatoes…delicious and I must say probably my favorite nut next to hazel.