Tips for making chestnuts at home this Castañada

Halloween is a very popular celebration nowadays, but fortunately there are still many of us who prefer a nice warm coat in front of a bonfire, warming our hands with a handful of hot chestnuts and a good glass of muscatel in good company. No tricks and no treats.

Although I am aware that times change and the way we face certain celebrations is adapting to the more modern world, I believe that we cannot let go of what has always been the queen of autumn celebrations: magosto in some areas, castañada in others, or amagüestu c haquetía are other beautiful names given to this lovely tradition, especially common throughout the northern strip.

Many of these celebrations have their roots in the harvest of chestnuts: they were once highly prized, as they were the basis of the population's diet, both as fresh fruit and dried and ground (in the form of flour). At the end of October and beginning of November, their harvest was celebrated with a party around the fire, with music, dancing and wine. With the arrival of corn and potatoes from America, the chestnut lost importance, and the celebrations changed according to the area, despite preserving certain similarities such as fire and well-roasted chestnuts.

To do my bit to help this celebration regain the strength it deserves, today I will talk to you about what I know best, the castañada , and how to roast chestnuts at home , because it is a real pleasure to enjoy them all autumn and part of winter!

History of the chestnut festival

The Castañada is celebrated in Catalonia and Aragon on All Saints' Day, November 1st. It is said that this tradition comes from the fact that the bell ringers rang the bells from sunset in the middle of the afternoon until dawn. In this way, they reminded the entire population to pray for the deceased.

But this task was arduous and they ended up exhausted, and to regain their strength they used chestnuts , since it is a very energetic fruit, and they accompanied it with muscatel or sweet wine.

This tradition became so popular in the 18th century that vendors took advantage of the opportunity to sell well-roasted chestnuts, and thus the figure of "the chestnut seller" appeared , about which several songs have been made that children sing today throughout the autumn.

For all these reasons, it is now typical to eat chestnuts and muscatel on All Souls' Day. In many villages, a bonfire is prepared and chestnuts are roasted, which are also accompanied by panellets and sweet potatoes . The chestnut seller also appears in the square, having come down from the mountain to tell a story to the village children, who surround her and listen attentively.

In the cities, the traditional way of celebrating the chestnut festival is not always the same, but you can find many places on the street where there is a stall roasting chestnuts, which is especially full on that day. And in schools, the chestnut seller also makes an appearance, handing out chestnuts and panellets to the children, listening to stories and singing songs.

How to roast chestnuts at home

While I encourage you to go out and celebrate the chestnut festival by the bonfire on the night of October 31, I also invite you to roast chestnuts at home whenever you feel like it. It's not complicated at all and they are a huge hit at home.

Seriously, roasting chestnuts is the easiest thing in the world, you just have to:

1. Using a sharp knife *, make a cross-shaped cut or cut across all the chestnuts (to prevent them from exploding when roasting).
2. Place the chestnuts in a roasting pan . No water, no oil, no... you don't have to add anything other than the chestnuts.
3. Shake the pan or stir the chestnuts with a spatula so that the chestnuts roast on all sides.
4. When the chestnuts are well toasted, remove them from the heat and leave them wrapped in a cloth or newspaper.

After a few minutes you can peel them and enjoy.

De Buyer Chestnut Roasting Pan

*It is very curious and relevant that the knife for chestnuts and garlic comes to us from France: the Opinel for chestnuts, coming from France, reveals the tradition and habitual use of this dried fruit. It has a super sharp tip to be able to penetrate the chestnut shell easily and apply that much-needed cut.

If you don't have your own chestnut roasting pan yet, I invite you to try the one from De Buyer . It's fantastic because it can be used on all heat sources (gas, vitro, induction, barbecue or in the fireplace) and it's as thick as any other, distributing the heat very well and making it clear that it will last you a lifetime.

The good thing about chestnut pans is that, since you don't have to add any liquid seasoning and since chestnuts are also a dry food, you never have to wash the pan (just wipe it with a kitchen paper to remove any remaining skin). I do recommend, however, that you store it wrapped in newspaper, a cloth or a bag, so as not to leave black dust in the cupboard or dirty the other pans. That's the only precaution you should take.