THE CHESTNUT’S ‘INSIDE STORY’ – PELLICLE GOOD FOR HEALTH
Announcement posted by Chestnuts Australia 04 Feb 2015
Recipe Card Makes it Easy
The chestnut really is a superfood – super versatile, super healthy and now even easier to include in your weekly menu through a range of tasty new recipes.
While the health benefits of the chestnut include low oil and fat content, very high levels of vitamins C and E and folate, less well-known are the incredible health benefits of the chestnut’s pellicle, or inner skin.
Chestnuts Australia member and grower, Jane Casey said the industry has developed a recipe card, targeted at early season’s varieties, which tells the inside story of the pellicle, uses chestnuts with their pellicles and highlights their versatility.
“Chestnuts go really well with chocolate, orange, mushroom, cabbage, pork and chicken, just to name a few. The Fresh, Fast and Simple recipe card includes new ideas of how to incorporate these into your regular family menu,” Mrs Casey said.
“Historically the chestnut is popular for roasting and once the outer shell is roasted, the pellicle comes away pretty easily. However, in the early season varieties, this is not the case, yet people try to discard the pellicle. With what we know now, the pellicle’s health benefits are so significant that we are eating it too,” she said.
New Zealand scientist, Dr David Klinac has found that the pellicle offers a variety of useful health-related effects: anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-allergic and anti-amnesic just for starters.
“Research shows the pellicle scores better in controlled test situations carried out overseas than many other “healthy” foods and plant extracts (including a wide range of fruit, vegetables and mushrooms) with regard to diabetes and obesity, in particular. Recent analyses carried out by the New Zealand Chestnut Council have shown that chestnut pellicle has an especially high condensed tannin content, which has been shown in overseas studies to have beneficial cardio-protective, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and anti-glycemic effects and has also proven useful in lowering blood glucose levels,” Dr Klinac said.
Dr Klinac was a Chestnut scientist for Hortresearch in New Zealand from 1982 to 2004 and has been a researcher with the Chestnut Council since 2004.
The Chestnuts Australia Fresh, Fast and Simple recipe card contains a photographic guide showing how to prepare chestnuts including slicing them with the pellicle intact, for inclusion in such dishes as the Chestnut and Pork Noodles dish and the Chestnut and Chicken Spring Rolls.
“We are really excited about the recipe cards because they are wonderfully tasty recipes and make it easy for people to incorporate chestnuts more often, enjoying the taste and the health benefits,” Mrs Casey said.
The Fresh, Fast and Simple recipe cards are available at food markets or can be downloaded from the Chestnuts Australia website http://www.chestnutsaustralia.com.au/
ENDS
Information for Editors
For more details please contact: Jane Casey, Chestnuts Australia on 0408 999 380.
The chestnut season runs from March to June.
The recipe card is available at http://www.chestnutsaustralia.com.au/images/2013pdf/2014recipecard.pdf
While the health benefits of the chestnut include low oil and fat content, very high levels of vitamins C and E and folate, less well-known are the incredible health benefits of the chestnut’s pellicle, or inner skin.
Chestnuts Australia member and grower, Jane Casey said the industry has developed a recipe card, targeted at early season’s varieties, which tells the inside story of the pellicle, uses chestnuts with their pellicles and highlights their versatility.
“Chestnuts go really well with chocolate, orange, mushroom, cabbage, pork and chicken, just to name a few. The Fresh, Fast and Simple recipe card includes new ideas of how to incorporate these into your regular family menu,” Mrs Casey said.
“Historically the chestnut is popular for roasting and once the outer shell is roasted, the pellicle comes away pretty easily. However, in the early season varieties, this is not the case, yet people try to discard the pellicle. With what we know now, the pellicle’s health benefits are so significant that we are eating it too,” she said.
New Zealand scientist, Dr David Klinac has found that the pellicle offers a variety of useful health-related effects: anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-allergic and anti-amnesic just for starters.
“Research shows the pellicle scores better in controlled test situations carried out overseas than many other “healthy” foods and plant extracts (including a wide range of fruit, vegetables and mushrooms) with regard to diabetes and obesity, in particular. Recent analyses carried out by the New Zealand Chestnut Council have shown that chestnut pellicle has an especially high condensed tannin content, which has been shown in overseas studies to have beneficial cardio-protective, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and anti-glycemic effects and has also proven useful in lowering blood glucose levels,” Dr Klinac said.
Dr Klinac was a Chestnut scientist for Hortresearch in New Zealand from 1982 to 2004 and has been a researcher with the Chestnut Council since 2004.
The Chestnuts Australia Fresh, Fast and Simple recipe card contains a photographic guide showing how to prepare chestnuts including slicing them with the pellicle intact, for inclusion in such dishes as the Chestnut and Pork Noodles dish and the Chestnut and Chicken Spring Rolls.
“We are really excited about the recipe cards because they are wonderfully tasty recipes and make it easy for people to incorporate chestnuts more often, enjoying the taste and the health benefits,” Mrs Casey said.
The Fresh, Fast and Simple recipe cards are available at food markets or can be downloaded from the Chestnuts Australia website http://www.chestnutsaustralia.com.au/
ENDS
Information for Editors
For more details please contact: Jane Casey, Chestnuts Australia on 0408 999 380.
The chestnut season runs from March to June.
The recipe card is available at http://www.chestnutsaustralia.com.au/images/2013pdf/2014recipecard.pdf