Edible Chestnuts

Ken — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 14:29:07 +0000

I am delighted to see that the chestnut harvesting season has begun in my region. Chestnuts are a delightful food but they can be tricky to harvest as their outer husk or “burr” is very spiny! The burrs are often paired or clustered on a branch while in the tree. Many of the burrs that I found had fallen and were on the ground.

Chestnuts can be found around the globe but the American chestnut has had a tough history. It was once plentiful and accounted for nearly one-quarter of the hardwoods in the Appalachian Mountains and was a part of the lumber industry. In the early 1900s a blight was accidentally introduced that nearly wiped out this native plant. In recent times hybrids have been developed to produce blight-free trees. You can see the signs of Chestnut blight on the tree trunk in the photo below.

There are some look-alikes such as horse chestnuts and buckeyes whose fruit is similar in appearance but are not related to edible chestnuts. Their seeds contain a poison in their raw state, so it is important to be able to distinguish them from edible chestnuts. An edible chestnut has a husk which is spiny and needle-sharp. The horse chestnut has a husk that is much smoother, with only a few warts.

Once the spiny husk is removed you can eat the chestnuts raw, but they may cause gastrointestinal distress because of their high content of tannic acid so it’s best to boil or roast them for consumption. You can use a knife to make a few slits down the sides that makes it easier to remove.

These days there is a great demand in the commercial market for chestnuts but it is very rewarding to find these tasty nuts in the wild so hopefully you can find them in your region and enjoy the reward of their discovery and consumption!

Improvised Cavity Whistles

Ken — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:00:06 +0000

I remember the early days of my childhood when I tried in earnest to whistle just like the big boys. It looked so simple by just puckering up your lips and blowing out. With much coaching and encouragement from my sister and friends I finally accomplished my goal. Then there came a time in my early teens when other kids made a shrill and much louder whistle by curling their tongue against their tightened lips. Sometimes people will use their fingers to assist this technique. My friend and I were bent on achieving this and practiced all day and finally succeeded while driving his dad crazy. Some folks have tried these methods without success, so the cavity whistle may be their salvation to a loud portable whistle for signaling.

A cavity whistle uses a small hollow over which there is a small hole or opening. A person can blow over the small hole and a high pitched tone can be heard. Many items can be used for a cavity whistle such as a pen cap, bullet shell, a clean cut reed segment or a pinched straw.

The most recent cavity whistle that I have learned about is the cap of an acorn. Cover the open space by placing your thumbs together and bending the upper knuckles over the outer edge. Your thumb tips will naturally spread apart, thus creating a small hole. Place your lips on your knuckles and blow into the hole. With practice you can create an extremely loud sound. Similar cavities for this “bent thumbs” method are small plastic or metal bottle caps for water, soda, beer or motor oil.

Even if you can whistle with your lips, learning to use a cavity whistle is another tool in your signal arsenal.

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Edible Chestnuts

Improvised Cavity Whistles