Sweet and rich and full off the taste of autumn these are easy if time consuming to make - but well worth the effort.
Preparation Time: 4 or 5 days.
Ingredients
- Chestnuts
- Sugar (approx the same amount in weight as the chestnuts)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- I vannilla pod
- Water (for the sugar syrup use a ratio of about 600ml for every kilo of sugar)
Method:
- Snip the pointed end of the chestnuts off with a pair of sharp kitchen scisors and put the chestnuts into a saucepan.
- Cover with water, add the juice of a lemon, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Leave to cool slightly and then peel off the brown outer skin of the chestnut.
- Next peel off the inner papery skin - this is more difficult and becomes more so as the chestnuts cool - use a cocktail stick to remove any stubborn bits.
- Using a large pan make a sugar syrup - cook the sugar, water and the vanilla pod over a low heat, stirring ocasionaly until the sugar dissolves.
- Gently simmer the syrup for 5 minutes.
- Add the chestnuts. Bring to the boil and simmer very gently for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat, discard the vanilla pod, cover and allow to steep over night.
- Bring the chestnuts and syrup back to the boil and cook for 1 minute (no more). Again allow to stand this time for 24 hours.
- Repeat the reheating and leaving to stand for a day process until most of the syrup has been absorbed (shouldn't take more than 3-4 times).
- Put the oven on at 65°C (about 150"F), cover an oven tray with greaseproof paper, distribute the crystallised chestnuts evenly and put in the oven.
- Dry the chestnuts with the oven door propped open a few centimetres for 2 hours or until they are firm.
Tips
Don't over cook the chestnuts when they are in the syrup as they will go hard and not absorb the sugar.
If after the 4th re heating you still have syrup left this can be used as a sauce for pancakes or ice creem or used to sweetern mulled wine or cider.
These keep well in an airtight jar in the fridge until they are ready to be wrapped for Christmas.
