Chestnut

The Chestnut is a spiny cupule 5-11 cm diameter, containing one to seven nuts. The nuts are an important food crop in southern Europe, southwestern and eastern Asia. The nuts can be eaten candied, boiled or roasted; the former are often sold under the French name marrons glacés. One easy method for roasting is to cut a slit in the top of each nut and heat in a shallow container, tossing occasionally. The nuts must be slit as they tend to explode when roasted. They may also be pan-roasted or boiled.