Potatoes Are the New Chestnuts: German Chestnut Crème from The German-Jewish Cookbook

Orange is the new black. Thursday is the new Friday. 30 is the new 20. Potatoes are the new… chestnuts?!

Yes, while our sad Eastern European forefathers and mothers were busy chowing down on, like, black radishes and parsley root, their Southern and Central European brethren were living the (comparative) good life on a chestnut-based diet.

Though chestnuts are widely considered a delicacy these days, at least in the US, they were a staple food—often THE staple food—in many parts of Europe, at least until the arrival of potatoes on the scene and sometimes even beyond. Chestnuts were not only roasted (over an open fire…) but also boiled and ground into flour.

Chestnut shells have even been found in one of the earliest sites of human activity, the Shanidar Cave in northern Iraq (though the chestnut does not grow well in Israel or Syria, hence its absence from the Bible and Talmud).

Sometime around 3000 years ago, the Greeks brought the chestnut to Europe by way of Asia Minor. The English word chestnut derives from the Greek kastanea, possibly itself from an old Farsi word kasutah (dry fruit).

Even though the chestnut’s prominence declined following the spread of the potato throughout Europe in the eighteenth century, it remained a favored ingredient in Italian, French, Spanish, and central European cooking. Fun fact: an individual chestnut tree can live up to five hundred years. So, in theory, you could just about go to Spain and maybe eat chestnuts from a tree frequented by Spanish Jews before the expulsion.

According to Gil Marks in The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, chestnuts are, variously, paired with Brussels sprouts and red cabbage, added to poultry stuffings and rice pilafs, or used in soups and puddings in Jewish cuisines across Europe, while Turks and Bukharans cook chestnuts in a lamb stew. Many varieties of charoset from northern Italy are chestnut-based (and they are SO. GOOD. If you haven’t tried one, what are you waiting for?).

More relevant for today’s recipe, central Europeans—Hungarians, and also Germans—serve chestnut puree chestnut puree (gesztenyepure in Hungarian) as a rich dessert accompanied with sweetened whipped cream. It is also used as a spread for toast or crepes, beaten with butter, eggs, chocolate, and rum for a cake filling (gesztenyetorte), and stirred into hot milk or cocoa (note to self: must try this).

This is a German variant on that chestnut puree cream dessert, brought to you from one of my favorites, The German-Jewish Cookbook by mother-daughter author team Gabrielle Rossmer Gropman and Sonya Gropman.

The recipe calls for starting with whole cooked chestnuts, but for a lazy version skip simmering the chestnuts in milk altogether and pick up some Chestnut cream. If you’re in NYC, Zabars carries a kosher variety. You’re welcome.

Chestnut Crème (Kastaniencreme)

5 ¼ ounces cooked chestnuts, packaged or fresh

¾ cup whole milk, divided

¼ cup water

1 tablespoon agar-agar flakes

½ cup sugar

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1 tablespoon dark or light rum, optional

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup heavy cream

In a heavy-bottomed pot, simmer the chestnuts in ½ cup of the milk over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until the milk is absorbed into the chestnuts. With a mixing spoon, break up the chestnuts into pieces as they become softer.

Combine the water and agar-agar in a small pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let the mixture rest until cool enough to handle.

Transfer the chestnut-milk mixture to a food processor along with the remaining ¼ cup milk, sugar, egg yolks, rum (if using), vanilla, and agar-agar mixture. Process until very smooth.

Pour the chestnut mixture into a medium-size pot. Place over medium heat, stirring, for 2 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and let cool for 30 minutes.

In a stand mixer or a mixing bowl with a handheld mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the chestnut mixture. Transfer to a 4-cup serving bowl or 6 individual dessert cups. Cover and chill until set, at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve cold.

Note: To prepare fresh chestnuts, use ½ pound of chestnuts in the shell. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Using a sharp paring knife, make a slit in the shape of an x on top of each chestnut. Place them on a rack and bake until the chestnuts are soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool 15 minutes. Remove both the outer and inner shells, using a paring knife if needed.

Sources: Encyclopedia of Jewish Food (Gil Marks, 2010); The German-Jewish Cookbook: Recipes and History of a Cuisine (Gabrielle Rossmer Gropman and Sonya Gropman, 2017)