Chestnut Storage Instructions
Chestnuts high moisture and starch content, makes them a perishable food. They must be kept refrigerated and not allowed to dry out.
At 32 degrees F., chestnuts will store for many months. For best results, keep fresh chestnuts refrigerated in a re-sealable plastic bag.
Punch a few holes in the bag, allowing the nuts to ‘breathe’. Place the bag in your refrigerator drawer, flipping it over occasionally.
Chestnuts may last 4-6 months this way. Acceptable mold, that may happen, will look like black spots on the brown shell.
The mold can be rinsed or wiped off, as long as the inner nut kernel remains fresh and yellow.
The taste of raw fresh uncooked chestnuts, without the outer soft shell and inner pellicle (a paper thin covering right next to the yellow kernel, should have the consistency of an uncooked carrot or potato.
When cooked, the kernel will soften. If the chestnut is undercooked, the outside of the chestnut will be soft and the inside will be hard. If overcooked, the chestnut will dry out and harden.