This weekend I went to an Asian supermarket and low and behold outside the front doors was a roasted chestnuts cart! I was really excited when I saw this vendor handing out samples of pipping hot chestnuts…it made me feel warm and Christmasy. I’ve never seen roasted chestnut carts, especially in California. I always associate chestnut street vendors with movies set in old England, I can’t think of any titles at the moment, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it. The chestnut cart was a franchise of what seems to be a Chinese company “Jin Bao”. Anyway, I went home with a bag of these yummy nuts and proceeded to crack these nuts with a special plastic device that was ingenuously invented for the sole purpose of assisting with the cracking of the nuts. This plastic piece has little teeth that you press firmly into the shell and it makes a nice incision to help you peel the shell away. I went to the company website and found many interesting facts about chestnuts. Some of my favorites are:
“Chestnuts promote urination”
“By putting smashed chestnuts on the body wound, the pain will relieve.”
“The chestnuts are a lusty and masculine food for men, and able to make women well complexioned.”
Gotta love that Engrish!
