My October Walk with Sweet Chestnuts

Enjoyable walks in nature always reveal new treasures or things of interest.

My Walks - October time and Sweet Chestnuts

It's been such a beautiful Autumn, still is, with long periods of sunshine and so far, not really cold. I know we need the cold to kill off the bugs - but still, I'm a sunshine lover. Looking at the trees changing their colours and some offering their fruits, I was walking along a hillside locally and saw the beautiful Sweet Chestnut tree with its spikey fruits half on the ground. Some are squashed and some complete, and unusually these days, the ripened fruit that I can see is fat and round. Often these uncultivated modern vareities nowadays have rather mingy chestnuts, with nothing much inside them worth having.

I collected some of the fallen fat chestnuts, avoiding the spikes, and took them home to bake. The Internet guidance said to cut them across the flattened side and bake for half an hour. I did that, by pricking them with a fork, and it was easiest to prick the rounded side. In half an hour they were baked through. They are marvellously tasty - except, unlike the shop-bought ones, their skins are not crispy on the outside, which would make it easier to get at the floury chestnut content. Delicious as these naturally foraged ones, it's a bit of a struggle to get them out. Next year I might try to bake them for longer or perhaps shorter at a higher temperature to make the skins a bit more brittle so they 'snap' open. Love 'em.

This Sweet Chestnut tree is one of the Remedies used in Bach Flower Remedies.Those needing Sweet Chestnut are in its negative state of deep despondancy, even a state of anguish. Perhaps as a result of bereavement. Taking the Bach Remedy will alter this negative balance into its positive state of peacefulness and sense of purpose in life. Try it, it really does work.