Chestnuts Should Be More Than a Line in a Song
A blight wiped out the American chestnut, but it didn’t kill enthusiasm for the holiday relic
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire is a classic image associated with the holidays, yet for many, the tradition is no more than a line in the Nat King Cole song. And while they’re still a common street food in, say, Taiwan and parts of Europe, even during the holidays, they’ve become less common in the States.
I’m a native of the Pittsburgh area, and I’ve never roasted chestnuts or even seen a live chestnut tree. But when “The Christmas Song” was written by Robert Wells and Mel Torme in 1945, Americans would have remembered a time when chestnuts were a more common ingredient in seasonal dishes, from stuffings to souffles.
In fact, up until a blight at the beginning of the 20th century, American chestnut trees towered throughout Eastern U.S. forests, rooted in nearly 200 million acres from Southern Maine to Georgia. These giants grew to be as much as 100 feet tall and more than 10 feet in diameter.
For communities in Appalachia, the chestnut tree was a way of life. It offered a food source during fall and winter months, as well as feed for livestock. The nuts supported wildlife and game animals, like turkey and deer. Many mountain…
