Chestnuts are inextricably associated with autumn, bringing to mind the crackling of dry brown leaves underfoot and blustering winds. In towns and cities all over Turkey chestnut sellers appear on the streets roasting chestnuts on tin sheets over tiny braziers. It is hard to peel and eat the hot chestnuts without burning your fingers and mouth, but they are too delicious to wait until they have cooled down.
Roasting chestnuts at home on the coal or wood fired stove was one of the great pleasures of autumn and winter evenings until the advent of central heating in most homes. In the past families and friends could sit around chatting while the chestnuts cooked on the hot lid of the tin stove.

In those days of course there was no need for the chairs to be aligned to face the television, and everyone could sit in a cosy intimate circle around the source of heat. Stories and jokes were told, while the chestnuts filled the air with their wonderful aroma.
The sweet chestnut grows throughout the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, and there are sixteen different species altogether, that native to Turkey being Castanea sativa, or the Anatolian chestnut. Chestnut trees are found all along Turkey's northern coast, and in the northwest region as far as the Aegean. The finest variety is that which grows in the province of Bursa, and this tree was introduced to Greece in ancient times, spreading from there to Italy and other Mediterranean countries.

Chestnut trees have a long life of up to 500 years and grow to a height of 30 metres, making them one of the most magnificent of Turkey's forest trees. Its dark coloured durable timber has traditionally been used for building houses and furniture such as the solid and capacious trousseau chests in which our grandmothers stored their most treasured belongings and keepsakes. Chestnut wood was also used for boat building, as the 20th century Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet reminds us in his Ballad of the War of Independence. 'Their boats were of chestnut wood, from three to ten tons, and beneath their sails they once carried hazelnuts and tobacco, sugar and olive oil. Yet now they were loaded with secrets,' he writes in reference to the Black Sea mariners who smuggled weapons into Anatolia. Who knows what other long voyages through stormy seas boats made of chestnut wood made in past centuries.

The fruit of the chestnut ripens in October and November, but the trees do not give them up easily. They are gathered before they fall to the ground by striking the fruits with long poles, and then comes the job of removing the thorny armour enclosing them. To do this the chestnuts are buried for a few days, after which the shell is easily removed, revealing the glossy nuts in their full splendour.
Candied chestnuts are a mouthwatering delicacy produced in large quantities in Bursa, and with not much trouble can be made at home. After removing the outer peel the chestnuts are blanched to remove the skin. These are now placed in syrup and cooked over a low heat, keeping the temperature just below boiling point, for two hours before setting them aside to cool.

Probably the most difficult part of the process is preventing the younger members of the family from eating the chestnuts as they are peeled! Chestnuts also go well with several meat dishes, and of course as a stuffing for turkeys at New Year, not to mention wonderful chestnut cakes of different varieties.
Chestnuts are an energy rich and nutritious food containing starch, sucrose, protein and tannin, and are especially valuable for growing children. A tisane prepared from the shells is used as a herbal remedy for reducing fever and calming the nerves. The nuts themselves improve the circulation and strengthen the muscles. In the villages of the Black Sea region baskets are woven from supple young chestnut twigs, and honey made by bees from the nectar of chestnut flowers is one of the most fragrant varieties.

In short, the chestnut is one of the finest gifts of nature. So now that late autumn is here, bringing cold, misty and windy days, do not forget to stop at the next chestnut stall you see and treat yourself to a bag of scorching hot tasty chestnuts.

* Barış Doğru is a freelance writer