Let’s find out how to recognize good chestnuts from “crazy” ones. Autumn certainly rhymes with chestnuts, but not all are the same; in this period of the year, it is elementary to find larger and shinier sayings than expected on the ground along the avenues and parks of towns and cities.
These are the seeds of horse chestnuts and are not edible; they are nicknamed in many ways, such as crazy, wild or fake, and differ from edible ones in numerous aspects. Let’s find out how to distinguish them and avoid dangerous poisoning easily.
How To Recognize Crazy Chestnuts
It is not difficult to recognize good chestnuts from crazy ones. If you know the main differences, it is impossible to go wrong, unlike what can happen with mushrooms which are often so similar.
Edible chestnuts are the fruit of the chestnut tree and are collected in the woods at an altitude that can vary from 300 to 1200 meters. They are contained in a “group” inside a hedgehog, which turns from green to brown during maturation and is rich in quills. There are usually 2 or 3 chestnuts in chestnut urchins, one large and the others smaller and flattened. Furthermore, the leaves of the chestnut, unlike those of the horse chestnut, are single, more minor, and serrated.
However, the matte chestnuts are found in streets, gardens, and parks, flat, or high ground. These chestnuts are, in fact, the seeds of the horse chestnut, a plant used mainly for ornamental purposes and to create large areas of shade. Their hedgehog is green, with small spaced and short tips, and usually contains only one fruit, which is round, thick, and very shiny.
Finally, chestnuts and matte chestnuts also differ in size and color: the former is smaller, less rounded, and have a characteristic apical tuft, something that the dull sayings do not have.
How To Recognize Real Chestnuts
Another argument should be made for chestnuts, the real ones, which are very good to bring to the table and can also boast beneficial properties for the organism’s health. Sayings not only have a high content of starches and a moderate content of fats and proteins but are also rich in mineral salts (potassium, phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium, calcium, iron) and vitamins (C, B1, B2. and PP).
These chestnuts are the fruit of the chestnut tree and are found mainly in the woods at an altitude between 300 and 1200 meters. They are discovered grouped inside a hedgehog full of quills. Each hedgehog can correspond to two to three chestnuts, one larger and the others smaller and flattened.
Color
The shape and the color: chestnuts are smaller, less rounded, and have a characteristic apical tuft, while matte sayings do not.
What Happens If You Eat Crazy Chestnuts
Eating nutty chestnuts causes intoxication, which, if underestimated, can lead to more severe problems such as intestinal and kidney lesions. The sayings of the horse chestnut contain saponins, substances that have an irritating effect and cause vomiting and diarrhea, based on the quantity that has been ingested. Common symptoms of intoxication include digestive upset, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or throat irritation. Furthermore, if cooked or raw, the matte chestnuts have a bitter taste, and the boiling water gives off a bad smell.
What To Do In Case Of Intoxication
In case symptoms of intoxication occur, try to photograph the tree and the fruits are eaten so that the emergency room or poison control center has data as detailed as possible to intervene.
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