Castanha dos Soutos da Lapa

This chestnut comes from the Martaínha Longal varietal, grown in the Portuguese districts of Viseu and Guarda, where the chestnut was even used as currency in the thirteenth century. The nut is reddish-brown with dark stripes across its shiny exterior.

The flavor is delicately sweet, so it is mostly used in the production of jams and syrups. However, it may also be boiled or roasted and used in a variety of dishes, such as mashed chestnut purée, chicken with chestnuts (in which chestnuts are used as a replacement for potatoes), chestnut mousse, or chestnut flour, which is a key ingredient in numerous desserts.