Cévennes chestnut

Châtaigne des Cévennes

What it is

The appellation names thirty local varieties, from Pellegrine to Marron dauphine, and growers keep several in one orchard: the earliest fall from 1 September, the latest by 15 December. The nuts are gathered only once they drop, and no chemical insecticide may be used on them after harvest. For the dried châtaignon they are dried in the shell at no more than 60 °C, and the flour must pass 80% through a 250-micron sieve, which is why it melts rather than grits.

In the kitchen

No chemical insecticide is allowed after harvest, so sort them the day you buy them: tip them into cold water, throw out any that float, and keep the rest in the fridge. The flour has no gluten, so blend it with wheat flour for anything that has to rise.

Goes with

Pélardon Cévennes sweet onion Pork Wild boar Porcini Chestnut honey Cream Butter

Same species

Ardèche chestnut Chestnut Chestnut cream Chestnut flour Chestnut honey Corsican chestnut flour

In season alongside

Greengage Honeycomb Mirabelle Persimmon Comice pear Anise hyssop

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