Chestnuts

In Food item by Sue Marshall

The carbohydrate content of chestnuts compares with that of wheat and rice; chestnuts have twice as much starch as the potato. That ounce of hot rocks contains about 15 grams of carbohydrate.

In addition, chestnuts contain about 8% of various sugars. As chestnuts ripen, the starch is slowly converted into sugars and moisture content starts to decrease. They are the only ‘nuts’ that contain vitamin C, with about 40mg per 100g of raw product, which is 100% of the UK’s recommended daily intake, although the amount of Vitamin C decreases by about 40% after heating.

Fresh chestnuts have about 180 calories per 100 grams, which is much lower than walnuts, almonds, other nuts and dried fruits.

Chestnuts, as with all plant foods, contain no cholesterol and contain very little fat, what there is mostly unsaturated, and there’s no gluten.

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