File:Chestnut 001.jpg

Summary
Line art drawing of parts of an American chestnut tree (Castanea). This tree also 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.