I still remember going chestnut picking when I was a kid.
They were probably wild mountain chestnuts—small ones wrapped in spiky burrs that hurt when you touched them. I used to nudge the burrs open with my shoe and pick the nuts out carefully.
Years later, I got to help with the harvest in the chestnut hills of Tamba. That’s when I learned something interesting: a chestnut tree can’t bear fruit on its own. You need at least two different varieties planted close together. And just like people, some trees get along better than others. Farmers try different combinations—an early-ripening type with a late one, for example—to see what works best.
My favorite way to eat chestnuts is the simplest—”kuri gohan,” chestnut rice.
You just peel the chestnuts, cut them into small pieces, and cook them with freshly rinsed rice. Add about a tablespoon of mirin, and it really brings out their natural sweetness. I like to sprinkle a little black sesame and salt on top. Every bite of that comforting bowl of rice takes me right back to the autumn hills of Tamba.
