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Before becoming a love story, the sweet chestnut was a necessity in the Cévennes. In fact the chestnut was considered as "the bread tree of the Cévennes". The sweet chestnut was the fundament of the nutrition for both human and animals.

The gathering of the sweet chestnuts

The sweet chestnut is traditionally gathered manually. Depending on the distribution of the chestnut fields, an efficient gatherer could collect up to 150 or 200 kg of sweet chestnuts a day. In the past, the landowners used to pay the gatherers with sweet chestnuts ! Today, some use nets, which makes it possible for two persons, once the net is installed, to gather up to 800 kg of sweet chestnuts a day.

The "blanchettes" or the necessity of preserving

To preserve the sweet chestnuts, it is advisable to let them dry first. Today, specially adapted driers are used for this purpose. In the past, the fresh sweet chestnuts were spread out on a openwork floor, most often in small houses in the middle of the chestnut fields, and a fire without flames was made underneath, burning for about a month. The dried burrs from the previous year were used for the fire. The sweet chestnuts sometimes got a slightly smoked taste, appreciated by some, disliked by others...

After a month with this treatment, the sweet chestnuts becomes hard as stones ! A "dépiqueur" was used to remove their skin. In old times the peeling was done by using special shoes with nails. The sweet chestnuts were spread out in a layer of some ten centimeters, and were then walked on by men wearing these strange clogs. The breaks from the peeling as well as stained and rotten sweet chestnuts were sometimes transformed into flour and used as nourishment for the domestic animals.

Some recipes with sweet chestnuts

Traditionally, the sweet chestnut is served roasted on a wooden fire. This is how you will find them in the cities during festivities and special events.

Several local recipes also exists. In the Cévennes they prepare the "bajana", a soup made of sweet milk with whole dried sweet chestnuts. The dried sweet chestnut can also be used as a vegetable. It is then advisable to let them rehydrate by soaking them in a bowl of water during a whole night. Today, you can get dried and rehydrated sweet chestnuts, boiled and vacuum-packed, ready to add to the sauce of your dishes just minutes before serving...