Roasted chestnut

Roasted chestnut is a popular autumn and winter street food in East Asia, Europe, and New York City. Asian chestnuts (Castanea crenata, C. mollissima) as well as European chestnuts (C. sativa) can be used.

Roasted chestnut

Alternative names	Castanhas assadas, chǎolìzi, gunbam
Place of origin	Various
Main ingredients	Chestnuts
Similar dishes	Roasted sweet potato
Media: Roasted chestnut

Regional names
Chinese name
Chinese	炒栗子
Literal meaning	"stir-fried chestnut"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin chǎo-lìzi Wade–Giles ch'ao3-li4tsŭ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization cháau-leuhtjí Jyutping caau2-leot6zi2
Korean name
Hangul	군밤
Literal meaning	roasted chestnut
Transcriptions Revised Romanization gunbam McCune–Reischauer kunbam
Portuguese name
Portuguese	castanhas assadas

Asia

China

In China, chǎolìzi (炒栗子; "stir-fried chestnut") is a popular autumn street food. Because they are roasted with sand and sweet syrup,^[1] they are also called tángchǎolìzi (糖炒栗子; "sugar stir-fried chestnut").

Korea

Gunbam (군밤; "roasted chestnut") is a popular street food in both North and South Korea.^[2][3] The food is sold from late autumn to winter by the vendors wearing ushanka, which is sometimes referred to as "roasted chestnut vendor hat" or "roasted sweet potato vendor hat". A popular folk song called Gunbam taryeong (군밤타령; "ballad of roasted chestnuts") was composed by Jeon Su-rin in 1932,^[4] and has been sung since, being one of the songs commonly taught in public schools in South Korea.^[5]

Europe

Austria

The Maronistand is a small booth where a street vendor offers roasted Maroni ("edible chestnuts" in local German) and potato-based hot snacks cooked in and on portable metal drums. Such outlets appear in the colder seasons and are a common sight at, for example, Viennese Christmas markets.^[6]

France

In France, marrons chauds ("hot chestnuts") are a well known autumn street food. In Paris, many street sellers come from India, and use improvised stands with shopping carts and cans.^[7][8]

In Corsica roasted chestnuts are known as fasgiole in Corsican language.

Italy

In Italy roasted chestnuts are most commonly known as caldarroste. They are very popular especially in mountainous areas of the country, such as the Apennines and the Alps where the chestnut grows in abundance. Chestnuts and roasted chestnuts can be found in numerous festivals throughout Italy, usually organized between the end of October and the beginning of November.

Roasted chestnuts are also known by various other names in different parts of Italy:

• Basturnòn - Apennines of Piacenza
• Biröll, Biroeull - Province of Como and Province of Milan
• Boröla - Province of Bergamo
• Braschèe, Mundee - North of Lake Como
• Brigi - Città di Castello, Umbria
• Brostoi - Some areas south of Brescia
• Bruciata - Province of Florence and Province of Siena
• Brusè - Province of Parma
• Brüsatè - Piedmont
• Buerie - Friuli
• Caciole, infornatelle - Val Roveto, Abruzzo
• Callarosta - Vallerano (VT)
• Callaròsta - Canepina (VT)
• Còculi - Molochio (RC)
• Frugiata - Some areas of the Province of Pistoia and Province of Lucca
• Maroni, Marroni - Province of Modena and Province of Bologna
• Mondina - Garfagnana, Lucca Plain, Versilia, Lunigiana
• Mondìgoli, Mandìgoli - Northern part of the Province of Vicenza
• Mundaj, Mundà - Piedmont
• Mundìne - Val Camonica
• Nserta - Northern part of the Province of Cosenza
• Pastiji - Some areas of the Province of Reggio Calabria
• Pistiddre - Rotonda (PZ)
• Pistiddèr - Pollino (southern area of Basilicata)
• Riggiola - Northern part of the Province of Cosenza
• Ruseddre, Rusedde - Central-western Calabria
• Ruselle - Southern part of the Province of Cosenza
• Rustìa - Province of Genoa
• Varola - Montella (AV), Irpinia (AV), Melfi (PZ)
• Vojola - Soriano nel Cimino (VT)

Portugal and Spain

Roasted chestnuts are popular street food in Portugal. Called castanhas assadas ("roasted chestnuts") in Portuguese, it is sold around November, when Dia de São Martinho (St. Martin's Day) is celebrated across the country.^[9] Traditionally, newly harvested chestnuts are eaten around a bonfire on this day.

In some cities of Spain, during the winter period, portable grills are prepared with the intention of selling the roasted chestnuts in street stalls. In this case, the chestnuts are sold in paper cones (generally made from newspaper sheets). The tradition of the Magosto (roast chestnuts) is a tradition in the Iberian Peninsula.

United States

New York City

Roasted chestnuts are sold as street food primarily in Manhattan. Though they've been sold regularly for well over a century, the major consumers are primarily tourists, not residents. Once common, they've become less so.^[10] They're sold ($3-$4 a bag) starting either at the beginning of autumn, or when the first chill sets in – about the end of September, or early October, until early spring. The few vendors who currently sell them say they mostly sell to tourists around the Christmas holidays. ^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

• 
  castañas asadas in Galicia, Spain
• 
  caau²leot⁶zi² in Hong Kong, China
• 
  castagnata in Italy
• 
  castanhas assadas in Portugal
• 
  roasted chestnut vendor in China
• 
  roasted chestnut vendor in Portugal
• 
  roasted chestnut vendor in Turkey

See also

• Roasted sweet potato

References

1. Xu, Wenwen (2017-01-12). "Street food centers draw city's hungry student". Shanghai Daily. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
2. Carruth, David (2016-11-28). "10 Korean Winter Street Foods To Bear The Cold For". 10 Magazine. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
3. "North Korea food shortage worst in years, despite farms". USA Today. Associated Press. 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
4. Cho, Yoo Mi (2010). "Reconsidering on the Development of 'Gunbam Taryeong'" 경기민요 '군밤타령'의 방생 시기에 대한 재검토. Music and Culture. 23. Korean Society for Worldmusic: 109–130 – via KISS.
5. 교과서 속 우리음악: 민요 '군밤타령' (in Korean). National Gugak Center. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2017 – via YouTube.
6. "Roast chestnuts (Maroni)". www.visitingvienna.com. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
7. Bianchiphotos, Carole (2008-12-05). "C'est chaud les marrons sur le boulevard Haussmann". 20minutes.
8. "Vendeurs de marrons a la sauvette: une vie sur les braises". Neon.
9. Bratley, Carrie-Marie (2010-11-13). "Chestnuts worth their weight in gold". The Portugal News. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
10. Bultman, Matthew; Siemaszko, Corky (December 7, 2010). "Chestnut tradition is toast! Few N.Y.C. vendors offer treat". New York Daily News.