# Why are chestnuts roasted? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819 "2013-05-08T17:28:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/1 "2013-05-08T17:28:20Z")
That is, are they no good raw, or what? (I live in Florida, BTW, I’ve never eaten a chestnut in my life; but for some reason they have this cultural presence around Christmastime.) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/2 "2013-05-08T17:33:20Z")
They’re technically edible raw, but they don’t taste very good. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/3 "2013-05-08T17:33:49Z")
Because they taste good that way? Why do we toast bread? ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/4 "2013-05-08T17:34:50Z")
Not really, no. They taste kinda flour-y if they’re not roasted. In fact, they can be dried and made into flour. My mother likes them boiled, with a bay leaf. I think, no matter how they’re cooked, they’re still flour-y. But roasting does bring out a nice flavor. I’ve experimented with roasting, then boiling. That’s pretty nice. Roasted flavor with … hydrated, soft, moist … flour-y-ness. Bit more work than a wintertime niche food actually deserves, however. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/5 "2013-05-08T17:38:59Z")
I occasionally eat some raw, but it doesn’t mean that they aren’t somewhat toxic eaten this way. I wouldn’t know. And as already mentioned, they’re fine boiled. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/6 "2013-05-08T17:45:09Z")
On the street in Singapore they roast chestnuts in a giant wok filled with coffee beans! Mmmmmm! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/7 "2013-05-08T17:47:22Z")
Chestnuts are cooked in various ways for the same reason potatoes are cooked. They are starchy and don’t taste good raw. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/8 "2013-05-08T17:48:10Z")
There are plenty of foods that many humans find more appealing cooked than raw. Examples include potatoes, asparagus, squash, turnips, corn and onions. ---
**Author:** ![kcor1953](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kcor1953/32/3221_2.png) [@kcor1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kcor1953)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/9 "2013-05-08T18:07:57Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > There are plenty of foods that many humans find more appealing cooked than raw. Examples include potatoes, asparagus, squash, turnips, corn and onions. Quoting you because you have the best list–all of those are fine raw and some people prefer them raw. Well, maybe not squash. I’m guessing (no knowledge) that raw chestnuts are like raw peanuts. Perfectly fine but more easier to chew and more flavorsome roasted. Oak acorns actually have something vaguely or actually toxic in them and have to be retted (probably not right word) if eaten–maybe chestnuts have that but I don’t think so. My hypothesis: Otherwise all that “open fire” goes to waste! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/10 "2013-05-08T18:34:38Z")
I love that song: Jack Frost roasting on an open fire… chestnuts shoved up his nose… Is that how it goes? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/11 "2013-05-08T18:37:42Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Because they taste good that way? > > Why do we toast bread? Well, it’s just that I’ve never heard of any other **nut** that is deemed to require cooking. Generally speaking, nuts are eaten raw. [insert your own teabagging joke here] ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/12 "2013-05-08T18:38:00Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I love that song: > > Jack Frost roasting on an open fire… chestnuts shoved up his nose… > > Is that how it goes? My mother’s version was: \*“Children roasting on an open fire… Jack Frost nipping at their toes.” \* Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/13 "2013-05-08T18:50:12Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > On the street in Singapore they roast chestnuts in a giant wok filled with coffee beans! Mmmmmm! Just personally – yet another reason for me to resolve never, ever to visit Singapore… ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/14 "2013-05-08T19:01:30Z")
Chestnuts could be heavy-going if you didn’t peel them first… The French and Italians go more for chestnuts than others ( marrons or castagna ), and export products such as _Marron Glacé_ or canned puréed chestnut paste; but I haven’t heard of them snacking on the nut itself. I found an **[eHow](http://www.ehow.com/how_2251675_eat-raw-chestnut.html)** guide to eating them raw: it seems to involve soaking in hot water then roasting them, which is a new definition of ‘raw’. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/15 "2013-05-08T19:36:43Z")
A lot of chestnuts are slightly bitter raw. Maybe roasting them mutes the bitterness somewhat. I’ll eat them once in a long while. ETA: Its relative, the buckeye, is intensely bitter, so not edible for most folks. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/16 "2013-05-08T22:24:42Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Well, it’s just that I’ve never heard of any other **nut** that is deemed to require cooking. Generally speaking, nuts are eaten raw. [insert your own teabagging joke here] Aren’t cashews posionious without some form of processing? ([top hit on google says yes](http://www.wisegeek.org/are-raw-cashews-really-poisonous.htm)) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/17 "2013-05-08T22:47:59Z")
Raw chestnuts are inedible. Roasting them makes them sweet and tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/18 "2013-05-08T23:02:45Z")
> [@kcor1953](#): > > … all of those are fine raw and some people prefer them raw. Right - but as I noted, many (probably most) people prefer them cooked. Of the total portions consumed of all these veggies, I’d guess at least 98% are cooked. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/19 "2013-05-08T23:16:57Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > Aren’t cashews posionious without some form of processing? ([top hit on google says yes](http://www.wisegeek.org/are-raw-cashews-really-poisonous.htm)) It’s the shell that’s poisonous. ---
**Author:** ![kcor1953](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kcor1953/32/3221_2.png) [@kcor1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kcor1953)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819/20 "2013-05-08T23:21:48Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Right - but as I noted, many (probably most) people prefer them cooked. Of the total portions consumed of all these veggies, I’d guess at least 98% are cooked. Oh, absolutely. I just had a thought about cooked/raw vegetables segueing into ‘roasting to make edible,’ and you had a great list. Still can’t recall any squash I 'd eat raw. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-chestnuts-roasted/657819.md?page=2)