Top 3 European Chestnut Flours

The sweet chestnut flour called Farina di Neccio della Garfagnana is made from ground chestnuts grown in the Tuscan woodlands of Garfagnana, namely the province of Lucca. The nuts are collected and slow-baked for 40 days over a low fire made with chestnut wood only. Once dried, they are milled to a sweet flavored flour with a mildly bitter aftertaste. Since the flour is produced with eight different chestnut varieties, its color ranges from white to ivory. It is used to make many traditional delicacies such as Manafregoli, chestnut flour cooked with milk; Castagnaccio, a cake made with the addition of walnuts and pine nuts, and Neccio, a type of flatbread. Farina di Neccio can also be used to make chestnut polenta, traditionally served with ricotta, mild cheese, sautéed mushrooms and charcuterie.Expand

Traditionally produced in the Tuscan province of Massa Carrara, the flour of Castagne della Lunigiana is made from the local chestnut varieties of Bresciana, Carpanese, Fosetta, Marzolina, Moretta, Primaticcia, Rigola, Rossella and Rossola. To make the flour, chestnuts are collected and placed in the so-called 'gradile', stone-walled smokehouses where they are dried over a slow smoldering fire of husks from the previous harvests. The fire is kept stoked for weeks until the nuts are completely dried, after which they are peeled and, finally, ground in millstones. Lunigiana chestnut flour is soft and velvety, almost talc-like in texture, and particularly sweet. It is an extremely versatile ingredient used in the preparation of various local delicacies one of which is definitely not to be missed: Castagnaccio, also called Badino or Pattona, a Tuscan chestnut cake with raisins, walnuts, pine nuts and rosemary.Expand

The uniquely flavored flour called Farine de Châtaigne Corse is made from chestnuts grown on the French island of Corsica. It is praised for its intensely sweet flavor and complex scents of dried chestnuts, dried fruits, cookies, spices and milk. Its color is creamy white to reddish-brown and it is finely ground. There is another variety of this flour that is made from roasted chestnuts, which is much darker and has a stronger taste reminiscent of biscuits. All of the chestnuts must be harvested from the ground when they fall from the chestnut trees that must be at least ten years old and from the Castanea sativa Mill. variety. After the harvest, the chestnuts are dried, shelled, sorted, optionally roasted and ground into this fine flour. Use the flour for making various cakes and biscuits with a delicately sweet, well-rounded flavor.Expand