On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:52:10 -0600, Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> I've never use un-canned water chestnuts, Jim. What do you do with
> them. I assume you purchase from an Asian market. TIA. How long do
> they keep?

You have to peel them. They are about the size of a lrg walnut/sm chestnut
and are like peeling an apple. Prob is, they are small enough and the
shape is irregular enough, that by time you peel one, you've lost a third
of the pulp. In short, a PIA. After peeled, texture is like a jicama or
jerusalem artichoke. I've tried both canned and fresh and don't
necessarilly think the fresh is that much better. If you're doing a dish
with the best ingredients and think the rather bland flavor of a w/c will
be discernable to your finicky foodie friends, go crazy and buy fresh. If
you're doing stirfry for your typical trailer-trash-type bros or low-temp
lutefisk lovers, canned will do.

nb