Peeling chestnuts
MtnTraveler wrote:
> A friend with several chestnut trees gave us 10 kilo of chestnuts.
> Wonderful! I love chestnuts. Terrible! For many of the dishes we have to
> peel the chestnuts first.
>
> Last year I purchased a chestnut peeler in Shanghai. This may well be an
> insidious device designed to destroy the Western world... person by
> person. A very clever kitchen/torture tool, it looks similar to pliers,
> with one side having a razor edge and the other having gripper teeth.
> One only needs to snip around the chestnut to easily remove the shell.
> And remove bits of finger at the same time. The teeth hold onto the
> shell while the razor slice off bits of it. Unfortunately, it is so
> simple to use, that it's easy to start going too quickly. That is when
> the trouble begins. As the shells get snipped, often a long thread of
> them (as when peeling a lemon) build up between the blades. Of course,
> without thinking, I will just swipe them away, adding another cut to my
> fingers because that really IS a razor blade there!
>
> I now have a nice bowl full of shelled chestnuts ready for Sunday dinner
> dishes, and sticking plasters on four of my fingers! I think it is time
> to invest in Kevlar gloves.
>
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