notbob wrote on Mon, 5 Jan 2009 11:36:08 -0700:

>> 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.

They are a nuisance to prepare but the canned ones have no taste at all,
AFAIAC. When they are a major part of the dish, like in asparagus and
water chestnuts, the delicate flavor is obvious. As a component of a
larger mixture the taste might be washed out.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not