Chestnut flour (how-to prepare)

Source: The Craft of the Country Cook.  From A-Z: over 1,000 recipes & food ideas (1988) by Pat Katz.  A Cloudburst Press Book.  Hartley & Marks, Publishers

• dry, hard chestnuts

• grain mill

• hammer -or- nutcracker

Dry, hard chestnuts grind easily in a grain mill.  For some mills it may be necessary to first break the chestnuts into small pieces with a hammer or nutcracker.  Some meat grinders, blenders, and food processors will also grind chestnuts.

Chestnut flour can be substituted for some of the wheat flour in recipes for baked goods.  To make a puree for recipes that require it, slowly add boiling water to the flour, stirring constantly till the desired thickness is reached.  If flour from precooked dried chestnuts is used, the puree can be sweetened for an instant chestnut pudding.