Boiled Chestnuts

No ratings yet

Ingredients 3 ingredients

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.

Make a slight incision in the outer skin only, of each chestnut, to prevent its bursting, and when all are done, throw them into plenty of boiling water, with about a dessertspoonful of salt to the half gallon.
Some chestnuts will require to be boiled nearly or quite an hour, others little more than half the time: the cook should try them occasionally, and as soon as they are soft through, drain them, wipe them in a coarse cloth, and send them to table quickly in a hot napkin.
Obs.—The best chestnuts are those which have no internal divisions: the finest kinds are quite entire when shelled.