Chestnut Charlie’s Wants You to Know: Chestnut Season Comes Earlier Than You Think

Don’t let the classic yuletide carol fool you. The peak season for chestnuts in Kansas is actually in September and early October, not during the cool-weather holidays.

“We will be completely sold out by Thanksgiving,” Charles Novogradac, owner and operator of Chestnut Charlie’s, told me when I initially asked to cover his chestnut farm in November of last year (far too late in the season). “We have been trying for years to get ‘The Christmas Song’ out of folks’ heads.”

At Chestnut Charlie’s, located just outside Lawrence, Novogradac and his wife, Debbie, wait for the chestnuts to fall from the trees around mid-September before they start collecting them. (Unlike walnuts or pecans, chestnuts cannot be shaken down.) The couple has been harvesting organic chestnuts since 1995, and they know the signs: tree branches begin to bend under the weight of their fattening nut load, the green burrs, which contain about three chestnuts each, start to brown and squirrels become more active as they search for the ripe nuts.

For the next four to six weeks until about mid October, “the nuts are raining down on us,” Novogradac says. 

After this brutal and sweltering Kansas City summer, here’s what I’ve been daydreaming of: The Big Dark in Seattle, Fairbanks, Alaska’s polar night and International Falls, Minnesota, nicknamed the “Icebox of the Nation.” But Novogradac assures me that chestnuts will soon start dropping to the ground, which means fall is right around the corner.

Once the chestnuts start raining down, helpers from around Lawrence gather them from the ground by hand each day. They wear heavy leather gloves to protect themselves from the spiny burrs and even use frisbees as “hand extenders” to save their knees from too many deep bends.

According to Novogradac, expensive mechanical harvesting machines made in Europe could help with the process, but at his farm’s scale, he prefers the hands-on approach, which he says results in better quality and appearance.

“Gathering chestnuts by hand is quiet, in shade, often cool, and can be contemplative—in communion with nature,” he says. “It is a primal function of humans to look and listen, to use eyes and hands, to walk, to reach to the ground to gather food into baskets and bring them home for winter.”

After gathering, the nuts are triple-washed, inspected and stored in a 32-degree walk-in cooler. They’re then sold online (chestnutcharlie.com) or supplied to The Community Mercantile and Checkers in Lawrence, as well as Whole Foods and 888 International Market. (Chestnuts are popular in East Asian cooking, and Novogradac even says some of his Korean customers give them to their children before winter to ward off colds.)

Shopping Tip: Novogradac worries about grocers who display chestnuts alongside other hard-shell nuts. Chestnuts must be refrigerated, with a firm body and shiny skin. If they’re available later in the year, the nuts are likely from Europe or Asia and could be spoiled. Before buying, open a few to make sure they are not moldy or dried out. 

Raw chestnut kernels are crisp, sort of like a raw carrot, and can range in flavor from bland to sweet, according to Novogradac. And while the lyrics “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” have created a misunderstanding about the nut’s seasonal availability, he agrees roasting is the best way to enjoy them.

“Cooked chestnuts soften some and might remind you of sweet potatoes for flavor,” says Novogradac. “But not exactly. You just have to eat some to understand their flavor. Children take to them immediately. I tell them they are cookies which fall off trees.”

Chestnuts can be roasted or boiled, both of which soften the nut and make it easier to peel. Novogradac suggests scoring the casing with a single slice across the nut’s “belly” before cooking. Once roasted or boiled, peel them while they’re still warm.

Whether you’re using them in a sweet or savory dish, chestnuts are versatile. Novogradac says he and Debbie put them in oatmeal, minestrone and even bisque. And if you’re already plotting your Thanksgiving stuffing like I am, freeze the peeled nuts until then.

I’m still waiting for snow to start falling, but for now, I’ll take chestnuts.

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