Chestnut
Eurasia

It has been a staple food in southern Europe, Turkey, and southwestern and eastern Asia for millennia, largely replacing cereals where these would not grow well, if at all, in mountainous Mediterranean areas. Evidence of its cultivation by humans is found since around 2000 BC. Alexander the Great and the Romans planted chestnut trees across Europe while on their various campaigns. A Greek army is said to have survived their retreat from Asia Minor in 401–399 BC thanks to their stores of chestnuts. 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. To the early Christians, chestnuts symbolized chastity. 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 carbohydrates. In some parts of Italy, a cake made of chestnuts is used as a substitute for potatoes. In 1583, Charles Estienne and Jean Liébault wrote, "an infinity of people live on nothing else but (the chestnut)". In 1802, an Italian agronomist said of Tuscany that "the fruit of the chestnut tree is practically the sole subsistence of our highlanders", 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".

In Britain, boundary records compiled in the reign of King 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. This tree measured over 50 ft (15 m) in circumference at 5 ft (1.5 m) 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. In 1584, the governor of Genoa, which dominated Corsica, ordered all the farmers and landowners to plant four trees yearly, among which was a chestnut tree – plus olive, fig and mulberry trees. Many communities owe their origin and former richness to the ensuing chestnut woods. 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. In Modena, Italy, they are soaked in wine before roasting and serving, and are also traditionally eaten on Saint Simon's Day in Tuscany. In the Romagna region, roasted chestnuts 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". 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, or in 1841 "this kind of mortar which is called a soup". 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 Protected Geographic Indication (equivalent to the French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) status to the 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, or paper, which sometimes occur with other chestnuts. The main regions in France for chestnut production are the départements of Ardèche, with the famous "Châtaigne d'Ardèche" (A.O.C) Archived 2012-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, of the Var (Eastern Provence), of the Cévennes (Gard and Lozère départements) and of the Lyon region. France annually produces over 1,000 metric tons, but still imports about 8,000 metric tons, mainly from Italy.

In Portugal's archipelago of Madeira, chestnut liquor is a traditional beverage, and it is gaining popularity with the tourists and in continental Portugal.
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