Chestnuts

APPEARANCE: Appropriate to their northern origins, these nuts have two coats: an outer, hard, smooth shell; and an inner, furry, beige membrane which closely covers the convoluted yellow nutmeat. In markets, vendors generally have nuts in all stages of dress: some fully clothed (unshelled); some in just their underwear; and some naked.

QUALITY: Buying whole chestnuts can be exasperating because the inscrutable outer shell often hides unexpected mysteries of rot and decay. Select those that are firm, full (i.e. not dried with the nut rattling inside), and unblemished. The inner nut should be uniformly yellow and slightly resilient. Buying peeled nuts is safer but, of course, more expensive.