Chinkapin

The Allegheny Chinkapin is quite common in our mountain woods, which makes us very happy because it is our newly discovered favorite nut!  It is deliciously sweet with a distinct flavor that I can describe only as a combination of the best chestnut/hazelnut/almond nuts you've every eaten. It's like mountain woods candy!

They are a type of chestnut, much smaller and the outer shell is not quite as prickly.  You harvest them when they are green and ready to turn brown...

...and you let them brown completely.

 Once they are completely ripe, they will begin to pop open.  They look like mini chestnuts...

 

 ...and are a surprisingly crunchy, sweet, nutty surprise for anyone who takes the adventure of trying one. 

Once extracted from the prickly outer shell...

...you break it open (unlike an American Chestnut, these are best eaten raw)...

 ...carefully peel away the inner shell and the nuts outer skin...

...pop it in your mouth to experience a wild edible that you won't be able to get enough of (that is of course if you like nuts).  I recently learned that chestnuts are very low in fat and are an excellent source of low fat protein...now that makes me a very happy Chinkapin lover!

We found a couple American Chestnut trees as well, but all the nuts were eaten.  I did come across lots of thistles and butterflies (we were in a field in the middle of the woods that used to be a cow pasture many years ago), the last place surrounding us that there is enough sunshine to keep the thistles in bloom and the butterflies coming...I thought you'd enjoy this picture...while the butterfly is clearly nearing the end of its life and not a perfect specimen, isn't that blue sky beautiful?

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise