With its delicately sweet flavor and creamy texture, chestnut milk does not leave our morning bowl of cereal indifferent. To avoid spoiling anything, this vegetable energy drink further boosts our intake of vitamins and minerals. How to make it at home and use it in the kitchen? What are its benefits? Let’s discover the most famous fruit of autumn from another angle.
What Is Chestnut Milk?
Chestnut milk is a vegetable drink consisting of water and chestnuts. These can come in different forms: whole grilled and peeled fruit, flour, or flakes, depending on the recipe. With a very pronounced sweetness and a reasonably marked taste, this vegetable milk is an ingenious alternative to the consumption of refined sugar, especially in hot drinks. It can also be cooked in the most original sweet or savory combinations.
Organic Chestnut Milk
In trade, raw chestnut milk is still very discreet. Most often, this autumnal fruit is associated, in small proportions, with other cereals ( rice, spelled, oats, etc.). To take full advantage of its exceptional nutritional richness, it is better to make it yourself – ideally with chestnuts from organic farming.
Chestnut Milk: What Benefits?
We find in chestnut milk the main virtues of the fruit – provided, however, that it contains enough of them! First of all, chestnuts are naturally gluten-free. This vegetable drink is, therefore, ideal for intolerant people. Like all other vegetable kinds of milk, it does contain no trace of lactose. Compared to almond milk or soy milk, this drink remains particularly rich in carbohydrates, which makes it an ideal ally for prolonged physical and intellectual efforts.
We also note that in the whole fruit, these sugars are released very gradually in the body without causing a sudden rise in blood sugar. Although it is subject to transformations (which constantly change the game regarding glycemic index), chestnut milk appears as an exciting joker to rice milk, which suffers from a relatively high GI. The chestnut fruit also contains a beautiful range of minerals and trace elements. It includes in particular:
- potassium
- calcium
- and magnesium, essential for nerve transmission,
- but also iron and manganese.
In terms of vitamins, it excels above all by its remarkable concentration of vitamin B9 (or folic acid ), which prevents neural malformations of the fetus in pregnant women: 100 g of fruit still provides more than 15% of the nutritional reference values! If the whole fruit has good fiber content, it is unfortunately reduced in vegetable milk because of the grinding/mixing process.
Homemade Chestnut Milk Recipes
There are several methods for making chestnut milk. We give you all our tips below.
With Chestnut Flakes
Soak 60 g of toasted chestnut flakes in water for half a day to rehydrate them. Drain them, then place them in the bowl of the blender with 500 ml of water. Blend in spurts until smooth. Your chestnut milk is ready!
With Chestnut Flour
In a saucepan, bring 3 tbsp. Tablespoons of chestnut flour in 1 L of water. Then lower the heat and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the milk thickens. Eliminate the skillet from the intensity and let it cool.
With Chestnut Puree
We are not talking about the chestnut cream – a gourmet garnish for our pancakes – but about the chestnut puree with no added sugar. You must dissolve 60 g of purée in 500 ml of water: child’s play!
With Roasted And Peeled Chestnuts
After a walk in the forest, you may have unearthed some chestnuts. It’s time to invite them to an ultra-gourmet vegetable drink flavored with vanilla! type of dish drink
- Preparation time: 5 minutes
- Cooking time: 10 minutes
- Total time: 15 minutes
- Servings: 4 people
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 200 g roasted and peeled chestnuts
- 130cl water _
- 2 tbsp. agave syrup
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Cover the chestnuts in a saucepan with 50 cl of water. Bring to the bubble and stew for 10 mins. Drain and place the chestnuts in the blender with the rest of the water, the agave syrup, and the vanilla. Blend until you get a creamy drink. Filter and store in the refrigerator in a glass bottle.
Recipe Ideas With Chestnut Milk?
Chestnut milk lends itself perfectly to making cocooning drinks. Served with a cloud of whipped cream and a few broken speculoos, it turns into an exceptional “Viennese chestnut”! Mixed with cocoa powder (with or without a hint of sugar), it makes a very comforting hot chocolate.
In the morning, he sublimates an oatmeal porridge with a few diced apples (or banana slices) and crushed walnuts. Of course, it can be used to prepare homemade pastries. In the salted version? Chestnut milk in a creamy soup will go perfectly with squash (pumpkin, butternut squash, pumpkin), sweet potato, and carrots. With a few shards of chestnut on top, that’s all it takes to warm hearts as winter approaches.
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