Italy Panorama

Signs of Autunno

You know that autumn has arrived when the vendemmia has been completed.  Once the vines are barren of fruit, the leaves change color, and the vineyards become ordered rows of autumnal tints, speckled in yellow and red.

Chestnut roasting

But the clearest sign of fall is seen in the seasonal specialties. The emphasis shifts from summer fare and grilled goodies to heavier dishes like polenta and fall foods like mushrooms and truffles foraged from the mountains. The main event this time of year is the chestnut. They are proffered from roadside stands, in the weekly mercato, and the grocery store. There are many sagra events that focus solely on the versatile humble nut.

Italian ingenuity brings the chestnut into play -and onto the plate – in many different ways. It can be dried and ground into flour, which makes a rather tasty sweet bread; it can be roasted and turned into a sweet paste that is used to fill sweet ravioli, usually in conjunction with cocoa; and it can be used to make gnocchi (good with a gorgonzola sauce) or polenta.  Another treat is the marron glace’ which are often topped with a bit of whole-milk or honey-sweetened yogurt. The best marron glace’ are the ones that have been carmelized in sugar syrup and then soaked in liquor.

Chestnut vendors are careful to keep a distinction between castagne and marroni. The dictionary translates both simple as “chestnut” but marroni can cost quite a bit more. So, what is the difference?

For the answer, we asked a grower/vendor at a sagra in Castignano, a town whose very name derives from chestnuts (castagno means chestnut tree). If anyone knew the difference it would be a Castignanese.

He kindly and patiently informed us that castagne are just your common chestnuts which grow wildly and naturally all over the place. Anyone can go into the woods and forage for these run of the mill nuts. They grow three to a pod, encased together in their furry outer shell. Marroni, instead, are a cultivated hybrid…the Cadillac of chestnuts, if you will. The nut inside is shinier, sweeter and plumper than a common chestnut. They also peel out of their skin much more easily once they’ve been roasted.

Castagne vendors

So how can you tell the difference when they’re piled up on the vendor’s table? Simple, he said. The “white” of a marrone is elongated- narrow and oval, almost rectangular. The castagna has a rounder, darker-colored marking.

Despite the varied, creative ways that Italians utilize chestnuts, the most popular way to eat them is still the simplest:  freshly roasted until the skins darken and can be peeled off.  They are traditionally served with vino nuovo, new wine, and the two items take center stage as the headliners for the Festa di San Martino, the feast day of St. Martin, on November 11, when both are in full season.

Viva autunno.