How to Easily Peel Chestnuts (Both Cooked and Raw): 4 Quick Methods

The fall fruit par excellence: chestnuts  a food rich in benefits and nutrients, very versatile, suitable for sweet preparations or savory recipes.

They can be roasted, boiled, cooked in a pan and even in the microwave, without forgetting drying , which produces an excellent flour, useful for making cakes, fresh pasta, bread and many other specialities.

They're delicious to eat, but the outer skin and inner skin are often difficult to remove: chestnuts, whether cooked or raw, are difficult to peel, and often, doing so at home, ends up ruining them. But how can you peel them quickly and correctly?

Here are four very easy methods for perfectly peeling raw and cooked chestnuts, depending on how you want to use them.

1. Soaking Technique

If you plan to boil chestnuts, you can use the soaking technique to peel them quickly. To do this, soak them for a couple of hours in a container like a salad bowl, then proceed to cut the skin and boil them. Once cooked, it will be very easy to remove the shell and skin. A trick to prevent them from becoming too soft and to make it easier to remove the skin is to add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the cooking water.

2. Wrap The Chestnuts in a Tea Towel After Cooking

If you want to roast or bake chestnuts, simply wrap them in a cloth for a few minutes after cooking. This will create a moisture content inside the cloth, allowing you to easily remove the skins. It's similar to peeling pepper skins. Pay attention to the cooking times, which are different for pan-fried chestnuts than for oven-roasted chestnuts.

3. Use a Pointed Knife to Peel Raw Chestnuts

The most difficult part is peeling raw chestnuts: but if you need them for soups and creamed soups, you'll need to score them with a sharp knife, being careful not to cut yourself. Once you've done this, place them in a bowl of hot water for 3-4 minutes. Then drain them, dry them, and remove the peel and skin.

4. Peel the Chestnuts After Cooking Them in The Microwave

The easiest way to peel chestnuts is to cook them in the microwave. To do this, first make a lengthwise incision, then cook the chestnuts in small batches. As they cook, remove them and peel them, also removing the skin.