Italy would not be the same without chestnuts in the autumn. They are used in many different ways in the daily menu, with chestnut flour being used for pasta, gnocchi or pastries, for example. During the harvesting period, the Italians organise chestnut markets all around the country, and chestnut roasting stands can be found on every city street corner. Delicious!

In Italy, you'll find the ‘castagne’ or the ‘marroni’ everywhere in the shops and on menus in the coming months. Marroni is the more cultivated chestnut. They are generally a bit larger and more shiny. There's also a slight difference in the flavour: the marroni is a bit smaller than the castagne.

From September to December, the scent of roasted chestnuts wafts out from the friendly squares in the Italian cities. Freshly roasted in the stands. You can roast them at home as well of course. There are special frying pans with holes in the base. Or why not spend a fun afternoon or evening roasting them above the hearth or outdoors above an open fire?