On the Farm
Chestnuts are roasting on a California farm.
Here’s a helpful tip from Sandy Harrison of Harrison’s California Chestnuts: Don’t wait until the holidays to buy fresh chestnuts to roast over a crackling open fire. Autumn is chestnut season in California, so if you delay until November, you might not be able to find them.
“Chestnuts are a nut, but they’re nutritionally more like a grain,” Sandy says. Unlike other nuts, chestnuts are perishable when fresh, so they must be refrigerated or frozen. That’s why they’re often available only from distributors or wholesalers after harvest.
Sandy and her husband, Paul, were surprised 15 years ago when they realized they were “farmers at heart.” After they met as students at Chico State University, Sandy became a nurse and Paul morphed his ag major into sheet metal sales. In 2004, they were living on a boat in California’s Bay area and gardening in containers when they decided to look for land. They spotted a tiny newspaper ad and drove to Gridley—60 miles north of Sacramento—where they fell in love with a 10-acre chestnut and fruit farm for sale on a dead-end road.
Chestnuts? They knew very little about them, but they learned. “Farming is a combination of so many things,” Sandy says. “It’s a way of life and a business.” She stayed with her career but helped with the farm until retiring in 2013. After 43 years as a nurse, she knew how to work hard. “I like to stay busy, and I like to see purpose in my busyness. Farming has been a rewarding part of my life.”
After Paul passed away in 2014, their daughter and son-in-law, Suzanne and Flavio Alfaro, moved to the chestnut farm to become her partners. “Some of the work can be very physical, so it’s nice to work with someone else,” Sandy says.
BY DEB WILEY
❝Farming is a combination of so many things. It’s a way of life and a business.❞
Harrison’s California Chestnuts now encompasses 13 acres, with 10 acres planted mostly in large-nut Colossal and Silverleaf chestnuts, plus mediumsized Nevada chestnuts, which help with pollination.
Harvest begins the first week in September and runs until the end of October. After they are picked up with machinery, the chestnuts are husked and rinsed. Then they’re put into cold storage at 34 degrees to cure for two weeks, allowing the starchy nut to develop its sugars. At that point, when left at room temperature, chestnuts are ready to roast in two to three days, the amount of time it takes to ship them across the country.
“Buy at least 3 pounds,” Sandy advises. Roast some right away and freeze the rest, thawing in the fridge overnight before using. “If chestnuts rattle when you pick them up, they’re not fresh,” she says.
Then slice some cheese, meat and fresh roasted chestnuts. Sit down with a favorite beverage—Sandy likes them with a chardonnay—and enjoy. “Use chestnuts as a cracker substitute,” she says. “It slows down the eating and opens up the conversation.”