Why are chestnuts so expensive

Store the nuts at F in a walk-in cooler. These may be purchased from restaurant supply houses those specializing in used equipment or a reefer shipping container can be outfitted with an electric cooling unit instead of the diesel. The cooler should be sterilized with Zeritol or other cleaner and kept clean. The bags of nuts should be rotated regularly as this decreases the spread of mold between nuts and bags. Nuts stored this way should last months through the selling season.

The market for chestnuts is virtually unlimited. American nuts get to market earlier, fresher and in better condition than imported nuts and can bring a higher price. The present growers that have established markets do not have nearly enough chestnuts in supply to meet the demand for their crop.

However, you will have to work to make the connections to sell your crop. If you have never sold anything before except maybe a car or a house , it can seem daunting to walk into a grocery store and try to pitch the produce buyer to purchase your crop. The following is a list of different buyers of chestnuts in the market today. Remember that the cost of freight delivery to the customer is a key component of the final price to the buyer and must be factored in when quoting prices.

There are several regional Cooperatives in Florida, Ohio and Michigan that already have markets for their crops, and you can join a co-op and sell through them.

The co-ops typically deduct a fee for handling and storage, and may have cleaning lines and storage facilities available, lessening the initial investment. The folks that run the co-ops are also excellent sources of information on how to grow and sell, facing the same problems as you. Many grocery stores and even chains are promoting buying local produce.

Ask the produce department manager if they have the ability to buy from local growers. This can work quite effectively for selling your crop. However, some larger chains need sources that can supply many stores over the holiday period from before Thanksgiving through Christmas, and there are no orchards or co-ops in the U. The natural food chains such as Whole Foods Market, Earthfare, Fresh Market and even Safeway all support local sourcing, and will pay a premium for organically grown nuts.

Food brokers work between the suppliers and the grocery chains. They are also the major importers of chestnuts into the U. They know the markets that buy the nuts, and may be a valuable outlet. Distributors purchase the product and hold it in storage to resell to their customers, both grocery chains and restaurants. This can be a valuable avenue to move your crop. Distributors that specialize in fresh produce are the best target to sell to. Asians and especially Koreans still consume large quantities of chestnuts as part of their cuisine and are avid buyers of chestnuts.

Every major metropolitan area has an extensive network of Asian food stores and distributors. They will bargain to pay as low a price as possible. Some prefer smaller nuts, considering them sweeter and more flavorful. By contacting stores near you, you can learn who the buyers are. Buy local is a major trend for many upscale restaurants. These can be excellent markets, and also eliminate the middleman in the sales process. Develop relationships with area chefs that specialize in this cuisine.

This is also a great way to gain publicity for your farm. The chefs will have time slots in their schedule for reviewing new foods. They are approached by many vendors so set up an appointment and give them samples to try and suggestions for how to prepare them. Roasting chestnuts to taste and for sale at farmers markets is an excellent way to sell your crop and educate consumers on how to use chestnuts, as well as promote your farm.

You also get retail instead of wholesale dollars and this can provide more income, especially in the early stages of orchard development. This process brings the highest dollar return per pound, but also entails a substantial amount of time, answering emails, processing orders and shipping individual orders by UPS or USPS.

You will need to set up a Merchant Services account with your bank for accepting credit cards online using a shopping cart. There are a number of smaller orchards selling this way currently in America, and prices vary.

One of the key issues with selling online is getting found among all of the other competing sites, through design to enhance Search Engine Optimization SEO or paid searches such as Google Adwords. Some growers have had excellent results with selling nuts or dried nuts to breweries that make chestnut beer links , and for manufacturing into other products. In Europe, chestnuts are dried and ground into flour, which is used in a variety of cakes, pastries, pasta and desserts.

Chestnuts are also ground into a puree and sweetened with cane sugar and other flavorings, resulting in delicious jams and preserves. There is no organized marketing of chestnuts in America. This is a major need for the industry and will increase the consumption and sales of chestnuts. The Chestnut Growers of America www. The CGA publishes a newsletter and holds annual meetings in different parts of the country where growers can meet and learn from each other.

The following is a list of different marketing techniques to help you sell your crop:. This is clearly the first step in the process, to give customers information on where and how to buy. There are many inexpensive website design and hosting solutions available today, depending on the complexity of whether or not your site is informational only or you intend to sell directly from the site. It is important to update your website regularly. Search engines pick up on new information, and having a news section on the home page helps inform customers what is going on.

Email is a very effective tool for selling and you should build an email list at every opportunity, such as when meeting people at Farmers Markets, etc. You can also build target lists of customers such as local produce buyers, restaurants, etc. Local columnists look for new ideas all of the time, and chestnuts are a perfect seasonal topic.

Feed them information such as a fact sheet, website address, how to buy, etc. Having a fall farm tour, during or after harvest, is an excellent way to spread knowledge about your products, and is easy to promote through local newspapers, etc. Your County Extension Agent will have a valuable network and mailing list to promote farm tours. Make sure your website is always mentioned. Point of purchase fliers on how to handle chestnuts at both the store level and at home, and recipes are an effective way to educate consumers.

One of the goals of CGA is to establish a national marketing program. Point-of-sale fliers and recipe cards are simple and universally useful. What is the origin of the Chestnut? It is believed that the ancient Greeks were the first to introduce and cultivate chestnuts in the Mediterranean region about 3. Furthermore, why are chestnuts so expensive? The American Chestnut Almost Wiped Out For Appalachian farmers, the nut was an accessible source of low-fat protein which many fed to their livestock and families.

The trees, which blanketed forests in the eastern region, were valued for their rot-resistant lumber and tannin. In the southern part of its range the American chestnuts could grow feet tall.

Not only was it a majestic tree in the forest and landscape, it also had many economic uses. Look for healthy, unwrinkled shells and a glossy brown surface.

Dingy or mottled shells may indicate mold, and small pinholes likely indicate that worms have been drilling; avoid such nuts. Fresh chestnuts are firm to the touch and heavy in the hand, with no space between the shell and the meat of the nut inside.

In the 21st century, most fresh chestnuts sold for consumption in the United States come from China, Korea, and Italy.

Top -quality chestnuts are known as marrons in France and some parts of Europe. Are chestnuts good for you? You should eat up to 3 ounces of chestnuts a day to maximize their benefits. Chestnuts are an excellent source of manganese, molybdenum, and copper and a good source of magnesium. However, unlike other nuts, chestnuts are a low-fat variety and do not provide the benefits of a high level of monounsaturated fat.

Can you eat raw chestnuts? You can eat them raw, but they may cause gastrointestinal distress due to the high content of tannic acid. They're almost impossible to peel without softening the shell first, and they taste much better cooked. However, if you must try a raw chestnut, here's how to peel one.

Can dogs eat chestnuts? So, by extension chestnuts are really good for dogs. Dogs can eat chestnuts, but you should probably consider feeding them in small portions, especially if the starch count in their diet is high.

Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To request a copy of the complaint form, call TACF state chapters are the backbone of a breeding program for regional adaptability and are essential partners in the effort to capture sufficient genetic diversity to permit long term survival of the species.

At this time, TACF only provides chestnuts to members. Seedlings are rarely available; seeds are often what are distributed in the spring. The blight-resistance of these trees cannot be guaranteed; they are for initial testing and research and are not available to the general public.

These chestnut seeds are also available to TACF members on a seniority basis i. Note that these seeds or seedlings are not being sold, but are a benefit of membership. By participating as a seed level member, you help TACF continue to do its important work and continually improve material for release.

These trees are not blight-resistant, but they are fun to grow and can live over five years. Demonstration plantings can be a great way to help TACF raise awareness about the American chestnut and our mission. Demonstration plantings are generally handled by the local TACF state chapter — you can find your local contact here.

The chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica , was accidentally imported on plant material in the late 19th Century and first identified as a new pathogen in New York City in The blight—an Asian fungus to which our native chestnuts have very little resistance—spread quickly. By , except for the shrubby root sprouts the species characteristically produces and which also quickly become infected , the foundation species that could once be found across million acres of eastern forests had disappeared.

This is a common misconception. There are still millions of American chestnut sprouts throughout the native range, mostly in forested areas. Very few of these small sprouts will live long enough to flower, and when trees do flower, they tend to die fairly quickly.

Very few trees are producing nuts and it is unclear if or how long it will take for these small sprouts to die out. Please let us know if you think you have found an American chestnut by submitting a Tree Locator Form and leaf sample.

We are always looking to expand our inventory of chestnut trees across the native range. For more information on how to send in a leaf sample for proper identification in our Field Guide. TACF engages a multi-pronged effort for creating a disease-resistant American chestnut including traditional breeding techniques, genetic modification, and reduction of fungal virulence. A majority of TACF staff and volunteers are involved in a traditional breeding approach. Requiring a minimum of 6 generations of breeding, progeny from this program are selected at each generation to exhibit American characteristics and some level of blight resistance, and efforts are made to increase the range-wide diversity of this growing population of trees.

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