Category:Chestnut

Chest"nut, n. Etym: [For chesten-nut; OE. chestein, chesten, chastein, chestnut, fr. AS. cisten in cistenbeám chestnut tree, influenced by OF. chastaigne, F. châtaigne, both the AS. and the F. words coming from L. castanea a chestnut, Gr. Castanets.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The edible nut of a forest tree (Castanea vesce) of Europe and America. Commonly two or more of the nuts grow in a prickly bur.

2. The tree itself, or its light, coarse-grained timber, used for ornamental work, furniture, etc.

3. A bright brown color, like that of the nut.

4. The horse chestnut (often so used in England).

5. One of the round, or oval, horny plates on the inner sides of the legs of the horse, and allied animals.

6. An old joke or story. [Slang] Chestnut tree, a tree that bears chestnuts.

chestnut Chest"nut, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining of a chestnut; of a reddish brown color; as, chestnut curls.

American chestnut tree (Castanea). This tree belongs to the same family--Fagaceae--as the beech and oak. The fruit, a very sharp and spiny cupule, holds 1-7 nuts. Chestnuts contain no cholesterol and contain very little fat, mostly unsaturated, and no gluten. They are the only nuts that contain vitamin C. Chestnuts can be eaten raw, roasted (scoring it to release pressure toavoid an explosion), boiled, steamed, dried and milled into flour to make breads, pancakes, pastas, cakes, doughnuts, and polenta. It is used as a thickener for sauces, stews, and soups. Nuts are available candied (chestnuts candied in sugar syrup and icing applied), fresh, dried, ground, or canned. It can be used as a coffee substitute.

It is used for animal fodder by grinding the chestnuts and adding it to other fodder.

The wood is much like oak in that it has many tannins. It does split when burned, therefore, it is best durned in a closed log-burner.