Marradi Italy Chestnut Harvest

Take a look at the part of the chestnut harvest in Marradi Italy. For generations and as long as anyone can remember people of the village of Marradi Italy have harvested chestnuts. In the "old days" it was out of necessity they would plant the trees and harvest as the mountain terrain was perfect for the trees to grow and thrive with abundance. Now after hundreds of years these chestnut trees and the people that harvest them have become famous for the large sweet tasty chestnuts. This is not a quick or easy process each family has a grove of tress located in the mountains around the village of Marradi. Some of these groves are easier to get to but some as in the case of Palazzo Torriani the grove is a 2.5 km walk into the mountains. Although beautiful it is the return trip with backpacks and sacks full of chestnuts that awaits after a brisk morning walk up and down the mountain sides. Once we return with the chestnuts we weight each backpack and sack so we can have a moment of triumph for our achievements. Then back to work as we separate the good (big) chestnuts, smaller chestnuts, and the ugly chestnuts (used for cooking).

The chestnuts in their shell have a very short shelf life and are sold at the local chestnut festival or in the shops within days to avoid bad chestnuts. If not sold they are roasted and used to make many different items (flour, desserts, bread, pasta). People gather to help each other out with the roasting process is labor intensive. The chestnuts must be roasted so the shells will come off a bit easier this technique is very simple but you must know just the right time to remove the chestnuts from the open fire.

It takes a special person to run the roasting part of this production many years of experience. The rest of the gathered group are waiting for the HOT chestnuts to arrive they need to be peeled while they are still hot or the shells stick to the chestnuts and it makes if very difficult to get the shells off. So we gather and peel until the very last chestnut.