The chestnut, Castanea sativa Fagaceae (chataignier, Koestenbaum, sweet chestnut tree, tame chestnut tree). The genus Castanea includes 13 species, of which only C. sativa is native to Europe.
The chestnut belongs to the beech family. The tree grows up to 35 m high. The aging bark of the trunk forms deep cracks. The leaves are lanceolate, stalked, with spiny toothed margins. The flowers are in small clusters united in large numbers on spindles. Flowering time: May to June.
The first fruits can be expected between the 15th and 20th year of growth. Each 2 to 3 fruits surrounded by a brown skin are enclosed in a four-valved sheath with soft spines on the outside. Fruit ripening: October.
In the last century in the canton of Ticino, the chestnut, like millet and hominy, was still a staple food. The fruits – provided with an incision, boiled in tap water, or processed into flour – were eaten as soup.
In the cultural-historical books, among the professions, the chestnut roasters – marronai – from the middle Leventina and the Blenio Valley are mentioned. From other traditions it is known that in the same sense in the valleys of the Sottoceneri and in the northwestern Luganese men emigrated as chestnut fryers from November to Easter to German-speaking Switzerland, Milan, Florence and above all to Paris, earning a living for their families.
The fruits were sold by their children and wives.
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