Editing Chestnut (section)

=== History ===

==== Europe and the Near East ====
It has been a staple food in southern Europe, Turkey, and southwestern and eastern Asia<ref name=chestnutbrook/><ref name=history>[http://www.hesge.ch/eil/Pages/AG/actualites/doc/Chataigner/TexteConedera2.pdf ''The cultivation of Castanea sativa (Mill.) in Europe, from its origin to its diffusion on a continental scale''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910104813/http://www.hesge.ch/eil/Pages/AG/actualites/doc/Chataigner/TexteConedera2.pdf |date=September 10, 2008 }}. By M. Conedera, P. Krebs, W. Tinner, M. Pradella and D. Torriani. Veget Hist Archaeobot (2004) 13:161–179. {{doi|10.1007/s00334-004-0038-7}}. This multidisciplinary study reconstructs the origin of chestnut cultivation and its spread throughout Europe in prehistoric times.</ref> for millennia, largely replacing cereals where these would not grow well, if at all, in mountainous Mediterranean areas.<ref name=Jalut>, Guy (1976). [http://www.cambridge.org/us/books/kiple/chestnuts.htm ''Les débuts de l'agriculture en France: Les défrichements'']. In ''La Préhistoire Française'', Vol. 2: 180–5. Paris. Cited in ''The Cambridge World History of Food'' – Chestnuts, edited by Kenneth F. Kipple and Kriemhild Connee Ornelas.</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Stefano Mazzoleni |title=Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape |page=145 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |date=2004 |isbn=9780470093702 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s88vzd9PwkkC |quote=In the coastal areas, the olive groves are tightly interwoven with low maquis, garrigue and steppe, which have been widely grazed and, consequently, burned. On the other hand, low mountains and inland hills have chestnut and mixed deciduous coppiced woods. The actual boundaries between these two different vegetation landscapes can be found at different altitudes according to local climatic conditions; higher (about 1000m asl) in the eastern and southern areas, and lower and close to the sea in the central and northern basin.}}</ref> Evidence of its cultivation by humans is found since around 2000 BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Conedera |first1=M. |last2=Krebs |first2=P. |last3=Tinner |first3=W. |last4=Pradella |first4=M. |last5=Torriani |first5=D. |date=August 2004 |url=http://www.botany.unibe.ch/paleo/publications/reprints/VegetHistArchaeobot_13_161.pdf |title=The cultivation of Castanea sativa (Mill.) in Europe, from its origin to its diffusion on a continental scale |journal=Vegetation History and Archaeobotany |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=161–179 |access-date=2012-09-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080146/http://www.botany.unibe.ch/paleo/publications/reprints/VegetHistArchaeobot_13_161.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |via=Institute of Plant Sciences - [[University of Bern]] |doi=10.1007/s00334-004-0038-7 }}</ref> [[Alexander the Great]] and the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] planted chestnut trees across Europe while on their various campaigns. A [[Ten Thousand (Greek)|Greek army]] is said to have survived their retreat from Asia Minor in 401–399 BC thanks to their stores of chestnuts.<ref name=peggy>[http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/chestnuthistory.htm Chestnut History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211182807/http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/chestnuthistory.htm |date=2009-02-11 }} by Peggy Trowbridge Filippone. For Cooking resources, Food history, in About.com.</ref> Ancient Greeks, such as Dioscorides and Galen, wrote of chestnuts to comment on their medicinal properties—and of the flatulence induced by eating too much of it.<ref name="Chestnuts"/> To the early Christians, chestnuts symbolized [[chastity]].<ref name=veg/> Until the introduction of the [[potato]], whole forest-dwelling communities which had scarce access to [[wheat]] flour relied on chestnuts as their main source of [[carbohydrate]]s.<ref name=chestnutbrook/> In some parts of Italy, a cake made of chestnuts is used as a substitute for potatoes.<ref name=grocer/> In 1583, Charles Estienne and Jean Liébault wrote, "an infinity of people live on nothing else but (the chestnut)".<ref name=estienne>Charles Estienne and Jean Liébault. ''L'agriculture et maison rustique''. Paris.1583. Cited in ''The Cambridge World History of Food'' – Chestnuts, edited by Kenneth F. Kipple and Kriemhild Connee Ornelas.</ref> In 1802, an Italian [[agronomist]] said of Tuscany that "the fruit of the chestnut tree is practically the sole subsistence of our highlanders",<ref name=targioni>Targioni-Tozzetti 1802, Vol. 3: 154. Cited in ''The Cambridge World History of Food'' – Chestnuts.</ref> while in 1879 it was said that it almost exclusively fed whole populations for half the year, as "a temporary but complete substitution for cereals".<ref name=leplay>Les ouvriers européens. By Frédéric Le Play. 6 vols. Paris. 1879. Cited in ''The Cambridge World History of Food'' – Chestnuts, edited by Kenneth F. Kipple and Kriemhild Connee Ornelas.</ref>

In Britain, [[Boundaries in landscape history|boundary records]] compiled in the reign of King [[John of England|John]] already showed the famous [[Tortworth Chestnut]] in South [[Gloucestershire]], as a landmark; it was also known by the same name of "Great Chestnut of Tortworth" in the days of [[Stephen of England|Stephen]]. This tree measured over {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}} in circumference at {{convert|5|ft|m|abbr=on}} from the ground in 1720. The [[Hundred Horse Chestnut]] in the chestnut forests on [[Mount Etna]] is the oldest living chestnut tree and is said to be even larger. Chestnut trees particularly flourish in the [[Mediterranean basin]].<ref name=botanical/> In 1584, the governor of [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], which dominated [[Corsica]], ordered all the farmers and landowners to plant four trees yearly, among which was a chestnut tree – plus [[olive]], [[Ficus carica|fig]] and [[mulberry]] trees. Many communities owe their origin and former richness to the ensuing chestnut woods.<ref name=terracorsa>[http://www.terracorsa.info/chestnut/chestnut.html The Chestnut Tree] in terracorsa.</ref> In France, the ''[[marron glacé]]'', a candied chestnut involving 16 different processes in a typically French cooking style, is always served at Christmas and New Year's time.<ref name=veg/> In [[Modena]], Italy, they are soaked in wine before roasting and serving,<ref name=veg/> and are also traditionally eaten on [[Nativity Fast#Coptic fast|Saint Simon's Day]] in [[Tuscany]].<ref name=peggy/> In the [[Romagna]] region, [[roasted chestnut]]s are often served with a traditional wine, the [[Cagnina di Romagna]]. It is traditional to eat roasted chestnuts in Portugal on [[St. Martin's Day]].

Their popularity declined during the last few centuries, partly due to their reputation of "food for poor people".<ref name=valnet>''Traitement des maladies par les légumes, les fruits et les céréales''. By Dr Jean Valnet. Ed. Maloine s.a., 1977, pp. 213 to 216. First published in 1964. {{ISBN|2-224-00399-4}}. Translated in English as ''Organic garden medicine – The medical uses of vegetables, fruits and grains'', Ed. Erbonia Books Inc., New York.</ref> Many people did not want to take chestnut bread as "[[bread]]" because chestnut flour does not rise. Some slandered chestnut products in such words as the bread which "gives a sallow complexion" written in 1770,<ref name=buchoz>''Dictionnaire universel des plantes, arbres et arbustes de la France'': 126. By Pierre-Joseph Buc'hoz. Paris. 1770.</ref> or in 1841 "this kind of mortar which is called a soup".<ref name=thouin>''Voyage dans la Belgique, la Hollande et l'Italie (1796–1798)'': 173. By André Thouin. Paris. 1841.</ref> The last decades' worldwide renewal may have profited from the huge reforestation efforts started in the 1930s in the United States to establish varieties of ''C. sativa'' which may be resistant to chestnut blight, as well as to relieve the strain on cereal supplies.

The main region in Italy for chestnut production is the [[Mugello region]]; in 1996, the European Community granted the fruit [[Geographical indications and traditional specialities in the European Union|Protected Geographic Indication]] (equivalent to the French ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'') status to the [https://web.archive.org/web/20121106143320/http://www.firenzeturismo.it/en/prodotti-tipici-toscani/the-igp-mugello-sweet-chestnut.html Mugello sweet chestnut]. It is markedly sweet, peels easily, is not excessively floury or [[astringent]], and has notes of [[vanilla]], [[hazelnut]], and, more subtly, fresh bread. It has no unpleasant aroma, such as [[yeast]], [[fungus]], [[Mold (fungus)|mold]], or paper, which sometimes occur with other chestnuts.<ref name=mugello>[https://archive.today/20070814120447/http://www.firenzeturismo.it/en_EN/other-typical-products/the-igp-mugello-sweet-chestnut.html The IGP Mugello Sweet Chestnut.]</ref> The main regions in France for chestnut production are the départements of [[Ardèche]], [[Var (department)|Var]] (Eastern Provence), [[Cévennes]] (Gard and Lozère départements) and the [[Lyon]] region. France annually produces over 1,000 metric tons, but still imports about 8,000 metric tons, mainly from Italy.<ref name=candied>[http://pageperso.aol.fr/sophieherisse/MarronsGlaces.html Candied chestnuts (in French).]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In Portugal's archipelago of Madeira, chestnut liquor is a traditional beverage, and it is gaining popularity with the tourists and in continental Portugal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aportugueseaffair.com/portuguese-drinks/|title=The Portuguese Drinks You Need to Know • A Portuguese Affair|website=www.aportugueseaffair.com|access-date=2016-11-10|date=2016-01-24}}</ref>

==== Asia ====
Always served as part of the New Year's menu in Japan, chestnuts represent both success and hard times—mastery and strength.<ref name=veg/> The Japanese chestnut (''kuri'') was in cultivation before [[rice]]<ref name=tasteofjapan>[http://www.tasteofjapan.ru/eng/products/fruits/kuri.php Japanese Chestnut] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127231709/http://www.tasteofjapan.ru/eng/products/fruits/kuri.php |date=2014-11-27 }} in Japan House</ref> and the Chinese chestnut (''C. mollissima'') possibly for 2,000 to 6,000 years.<ref name=nzcouncil/>

During British colonial rule in the mid-1700s to 1947, the sweet chestnut, ''C. sativa'', was widely introduced in the temperate parts of the [[Indian subcontinent]], mainly in the lower to middle [[Himalayas]]. They are widely found in British-founded [[hill stations]] in northern [[India]], and to a lesser extent in [[Bhutan]] and [[Nepal]]. They are mainly used as an ornamental tree and are found in almost all British-founded botanical gardens and official governmental compounds (such as larger official residences) in temperate parts of the Indian subcontinent.

China has about 300 chestnut [[cultivar]]s. Moreover, the 'Dandong' chestnut (belonging to the Japanese chestnut ''C. crenata'') is a major [[cultivar]] in [[Liaoning|Liaoning Province]].<ref name=biodiv>[http://www.biodiv.gov.cn/images_biodiv/resources/economic-tree-en.htm Economic forest trees] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720235128/http://www.biodiv.gov.cn/images_biodiv/resources/economic-tree-en.htm |date=2009-07-20 }}.</ref>

In [[South Korea]], roasted chestnuts (''gunbam'') are a popular winter snack, and serve as a symbol of abundance in ancestral rituals. Roasted chestnuts are also included in [[Traditional music of Korea|folk songs of Korea]], which include [[c:File:Gunbam_Taryeong.wav|"''Gunbam Taryeong''"]], a song that celebrates chestnuts,<ref>{{Cite web |title=군밤타령의 가사 |url=https://academy.gugak.go.kr/dp/pds/HTML5-3-3-4/HTML5-3-3-4-1/index.htm |access-date=8 May 2022}}</ref> as well as "''Jeongseokga''", a song from the [[Goryeo]] period. [[Gongju]], one of [[Baekje]]'s former capitals, is renowned for its chestnuts, with an annual chestnut festival that takes place in the winter. In the ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms|Samgukji (Records Of The Three Kingdoms)]]'', a book that was compiled during the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)|Jin dynasty]] about the [[Three Kingdoms]], chestnuts are used in the description of Mahan, the former land of Baekje.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Service (KOCIS) |first=Korean Culture and Information |title=[Monthly KOREA] Warmth & Sweetness : Korea.net : The official website of the Republic of Korea |url=https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=183345 |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=www.korea.net |language=en}}</ref>

In the [[Philippines]], the [[endemic]] ''talakatak'' or Philippine chestnut (''[[Castanopsis philippinensis]]'') is not cultivated commercially, though its nuts are harvested from the wild and consumed locally.<ref name="Fernandez">{{cite news |last1=Fernandez |first1=Rudy A. |title=RP has own kastanias |url=https://www.philstar.com/business/agriculture/2004/12/26/267546/rp-has-own-kastanias |access-date=20 December 2021 |work=PhilStar Global |date=26 December 2004}}</ref><ref name="Tiu">{{cite news |last1=Tiu |first1=Danilo |title=A Philippine Chestnut That Practically Nobody Knows |url=https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2018/01/06/a-philippine-chestnut-that-practically-nobody-knows/ |access-date=20 December 2021 |work=Agriculture Monthly |date=6 January 2018 |archive-date=20 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220120552/https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2018/01/06/a-philippine-chestnut-that-practically-nobody-knows/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Imported chestnuts (known as ''kastanyas'' in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], from [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''castañas'') are traditionally sold as street food in the Philippines during the [[Christmas in the Philippines|Christmas season]].<ref name="Cordero- Fernando">{{cite book |last1=Cordero- Fernando |first1=Cover Gilda |title=The Culinary Culture of the Philippines |date=1976 |publisher=Bancom Audiovision Corporation |page=195}}</ref><ref name="De Guzman">{{cite book |last1=De Guzman |first1=Virginia Roces |last2=Puyat |first2=Nina Daza |title=The Philippine Cookbook |date=1990 |publisher=Bookmark |isbn=9789711341107 |page=31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cruz |first1=Chino L. |title=4 Holiday Food Traditions in the Philippines |url=https://www.yummy.ph/news-trends/holiday-food-traditions-in-the-philippines |access-date=20 December 2021 |work=Yummy.ph |date=25 November 2015}}</ref>

==== North America ====
[[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] were eating the American chestnut species, mainly ''C. dentata'' and some others, long before European immigrants introduced their stock to America, and before the arrival of [[chestnut blight]].<ref name=peggy/> In some places, such as the [[Appalachian Mountains]], one-quarter of [[hardwood]]s were chestnuts. Mature trees often grew straight and branch-free for {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}}, up to {{nowrap|100 ftm}}, averaging up to {{nowrap|5 ft}} in diameter. For three centuries, most [[barn]]s and homes east of the [[Mississippi River]] were made from it.<ref name=salem>{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130104141146/http://www.salemboard.com/furniture/conservation.php American Chestnut Restoration]}}. Salem Board & Beam.</ref> In 1911, the food book ''[[The Grocer's Encyclopedia]]'' noted that a cannery in Holland included in its "vegetables-and-meat" ready-cooked combinations, a "chestnuts and sausages" casserole beside the more classic "beef and onions" and "green peas and veal". This celebrated the chestnut culture that would bring whole villages out in the woods for three weeks each autumn (and keep them busy all winter), and deplored the lack of food diversity in the United States's shop shelves.<ref name="grocer"/>

Soon after that, however, the American chestnuts were nearly wiped out by chestnut blight. The discovery of the blight fungus on some Asian chestnut trees planted on [[Long Island]], [[New York (state)|New York]], was made public in 1904. Within 40 years, the nearly four billion-strong American chestnut population in North America was devastated;<ref name="acfh">[http://www.acf.org/history.php The American Chestnut Foundation – Mission & History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516030808/http://acf.org/history.php |date=2008-05-16 }}.</ref> only a few clumps of trees remained in Michigan, Wisconsin, [[California]], and the [[Pacific Northwest]].<ref name=peggy/> Due to disease, American chestnut wood almost disappeared from the market for decades, although quantities can still be obtained as [[reclaimed lumber]].<ref name=edlin>''Trees, Woods and Man''. By H.L. Edlin. New Naturalist. 1970. {{ISBN|0-00-213230-3}}.</ref> Today, they only survive as single trees separated from any others (very rare), and as [[living stump]]s, or "stools", with only a few growing enough [[Shoot (botany)|shoot]]s to produce seeds shortly before dying. This is just enough to preserve the genetic material used to engineer an American chestnut tree with the minimal necessary genetic input from any of the disease-immune Asiatic species. Efforts started in the 1930s are still ongoing to repopulate the country with these trees, in [[Massachusetts]]<ref name=rhys>{{cite web |url=http://www.wbur.org/news/2008/78764_20080718.asp |title=The American Chestnut Returns |publisher=By Fred Thys, for WBUR news. |date=July 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105054345/http://www.wbur.org/news/2008/78764_20080718.asp |archive-date=2009-01-05 |url-status=dead |access-date=2008-08-08 }}</ref> and many places elsewhere in the United States.<ref name="acf">[http://www.acf.org/ American Chestnut Foundation].</ref> In the 1970s, geneticist [[Charles Burnham (geneticist)|Charles Burnham]] began back-breeding Asian chestnut into American chestnut populations to confer blight resistance with the minimum difference in genes.<ref name=Atlantic>{{cite journal|last1=Cummer|first1=Korby|title=A New Chestnut|journal=The Atlantic|date=June 2003|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/06/a-new-chestnut/302742/|access-date=21 September 2015}}</ref> In the 1950s, the Dunstan chestnut was developed in Greensboro, N.C., and constitutes the majority of blight-free chestnuts produced in the United States annually.

Today, the demand for the nut [[Supply and demand|outstrips supply]]. The United States imported 4,056 metric tons of European in-shell chestnuts worth $10 million in 2007.<ref name=geisler>[http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/commodity/nuts/chestnuts/ Agricultural Marketing Resource Center: ''Chestnuts'']. By Malinda Geisler, content specialist, Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, Iowa State University. Revised May 2008.</ref> The U.S. chestnut industry is in its infancy, producing less than 1% of total world production. Since the mid-20th century, most of the US imports are from [[Southern Italy]], with the large, meaty, and richly flavored [[Sicily|Sicilian]] chestnuts being considered among the best quality for bulk sale and supermarket retail. Some imports come from Portugal and France. The next two largest sources of imports are China and South Korea.<ref name=geisler/> The French [[variety (botany)|varieties]] of ''marrons'' are highly favored and sold at high prices in [[gourmet]] shops.<ref name=veg/> As of 2024, the United States imports 7.5 million pounds of non-organic chestnuts per year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/first-generation-farmer-finds-market-chestnuts-19774190.php|website=Times Union.com|title=First-generation farmer finds a market for chestnuts|first=Kelsey|last=Brown|date= 21 September 2024|access-date=21 September 2024}}</ref>

A study of the sector in 2005 found that U.S. producers are mainly part-timers diversifying an existing agricultural business, or hobbyists.<ref name=umca>{{Cite web |url=http://www.centerforagroforestry.org/pubs/chestnutmarketreport.pdf |title=University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, 2005 – This report describes findings from a 2004 nationwide survey of the U.S. chestnut market. |access-date=2008-08-14 |archive-date=2008-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910104812/http://www.centerforagroforestry.org/pubs/chestnutmarketreport.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Another recent study indicates that investment in a new plantation takes 13 years to break even, at least within the current Australian market.<ref name="laren60">[http://www.chestnutsaustralia.com.au/content/view/25/60/ ''Chestnut production''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719110311/http://www.chestnutsaustralia.com.au/content/view/25/60/|date=2008-07-19}}. By David McLaren. Written from ''The Chestnut Growers Information Book'', for Chestnut Australia Inc. 1999 for Chestnut Australia Inc. 1999.</ref> Starting a small-scale operation requires a relatively low initial investment; this is a factor in the small size of the present production operations, with half of them being between {{convert|3|and|10|acre|m2}}. Another determining factor in the small productivity of the sector is that most orchards have been created less than 10 years ago, so have young trees which are as now barely entering commercial production.<ref name=umca/> Assuming a {{convert|10|kg|adj=mid|abbr=on}} yield for a 10-year-old tree is a reliable conservative estimate, though some exceptional specimens of that age have yielded {{convert|100|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref name=laren60/> So, most producers earn less than $5,000 per year, with a third of them not having sold anything so far.<ref name=umca/>

Moreover, the plantings have so far been mostly of Chinese species, but the products are not readily available.<ref name=umca/> [[The American Chestnut Foundation]] in collaboration with many partners ([[State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry|SUNY ESF]], the American Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation and many others from education, research, and industry sectors contributing to the program) are in the last stages of developing a variety that is as close as possible to the American chestnut, while having incorporated the blight-resistant gene of the Asiatic species.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Darling 58 |url=https://tacf.org/darling-58/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=The American Chestnut Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> Considering the additional advantage that chestnut trees can be easily grown organically,<ref name=umca/> and assuming the development of brands in the market and everything else being equal, home-grown products would reach higher prices than imports,{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} the high volume of which indicates a market with expanding prospects.<ref name=umca/> As of 2008, the price for chestnuts sold fresh in the shell ranges from $1.50/lb ($3.30/kg) wholesale to about $5/lb ($11/kg) retail, depending mainly on the size.<ref name=geisler/><ref name=umca/>

==== Australia and New Zealand ====
The [[Gold rush#Australian gold rushes|Australian gold rush]] of the 1850s and 1860s led to the first recorded plantings of European chestnut trees, brought from Europe by settlers.<ref name=nzcouncil/> Along the years, most chestnut tree plantations were ''C. sativa'' stock, which is still the dominant species. Some of these remain today. Some trees in northern [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] are around 120 years old and up to 60 m tall. Chestnuts grow well in [[South West (Western Australia)|southwest]] [[Western Australia]], which has cold winters and warm to hot summers.<ref name=chestnutbrook/> As of 2008, the country has nearly 350 growers, annually producing around 1,200 metric tons of chestnuts, of which 80% come from northeast [[Victoria (Australia)#Geography and geology|Victoria]]. The produce is mostly sold to the domestic fresh fruit market. Chestnuts are slowly gaining popularity in Australia. A considerable increase in production is expected in the next 10 years, due to the increase in commercial plantings during the last 15<ref name=laren58/> to 25 years.<ref name=chestnutbrook/> By far, the most common species in Australia is the European chestnut, but small numbers of the other species, as well as some hybrids, have been planted.<ref name=laren58/> The Japanese chestnut (''C. crenata'') does well in wet and humid weather and in hot summers (about 30&nbsp;°C); and was introduced to New Zealand in the early 1900s, more so in the upper [[North Island]] region.<ref name=nzcouncil/>