Cherished chestnuts no longer endangered

GENEVA, Ill. -- Christmas isn't always white. Sometimes Jack Frost doesn't even show up, let alone nip at your nose. And there was a time when there weren't many chestnuts to roast over an open fire -- or anywhere else, for that matter.

Those days are past now. Jack Frost has already left his calling card more than once, the weather forecast isn't ruling out Christmas under a blanket of fresh snowfall -- and the chestnut crop is making a comeback in the Midwest.

"We have not really had a problem this year," said Sarah Thelen, who owns Hillside Orchards in Berrien Springs, Mich., with her husband Paul. The couple grow a variety of fruits in addition to bringing in the autumn yields from some 1,700 chestnut trees on their southwest Michigan land.

The Thelens, who bring their harvest to the Geneva Green Market and other Chicago-area outdoor venues during the warm season, also coordinate Chestnut Growers Inc., a cooperative of about 40 mostly Michigan residents who raise the once-elusive nut.

It was a century ago when the American chestnut was in an especially bad way. A fungal pathogen -- brought in on carrier trees imported from Asia that were able to resist the blight -- wiped out nearly the entire species in its Appalachian natural range.

Helen Mlynarski, a horticulturist at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, said in the decades before the disaster, the rot-resistant Castanea dentata chestnut tree had proven invaluable for building everything from cabins and furniture to split-rail fences and railroad ties across the rapidly developing region.

Within four decades after the pathogen arrived, the previously pervasive trees were reduced to a smattering of shrubs and stubby plants.

Today, with help from gene manipulation and crossbreeding efforts, a burgeoning blight-free variety of American chestnut is in the works. Other, hardier kinds can be found in the U.S. in the meantime. The Thelens raise several of them, and roast some of them on Wednesday and Saturday mornings during November and December as vendors in the Green City Market winter edition in Chicago.

Casey's Foods in Naperville sells jars of vacuum-packed, peeled chestnuts, and Trader Joe's offers them in frozen form.

Microwave, not open fire

An open fire isn't always the easiest thing to find in today's modern kitchen. Fortunately, roasting chestnuts in a microwave produces delectable results. Cut the nuts in half and place, cut end down, on a paper plate. Set the microwave on roast (70 percent) and cook for approximately two to three minutes. A bit of experimenting may be necessary.

For roasting in an oven, try a temperature of 300 degrees for about 15 minutes. Some experimenting with the oven setting and length of time may be necessary.

When done, the kernel can be removed with a small fork, dipped lightly or completely in melted butter and salted to taste.

A word of caution: Chestnuts must have their shell punctured before cooking to prevent the build-up of steam pressure. If this is not done, chestnuts can explode. A sharp pointed instrument such as an ice pick or sharp knife is good for putting holes through the shell.

Boiling chestnuts is an easy method of cooking. First, cut them in half with a sharp knife and boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain, allow to cool and the kernels should come out readily.

Steaming is another method for cooking chestnuts. Cut the chestnuts in half and try an initial steaming time of 10 to 15 minutes. When done, the kernel can be removed with a small fork or toothpick and eaten plain or dipped in melted butter.