The average composition of the fresh chestnut, edible portion, is represented by the following data:
Water, 42.7 percent
Protein, 6.5 "
Fat, 6.3 "
Starch and sugar, 43.1 "
Ash, 1.4 "
The dried chestnuts, that is, those which have been kept for several months or which have been artificially dried, have a composition represented by the following data:
Water, 4.8 percent
Protein, 11.6 "
Fat, 15.3 "
Sugar and starch, 65.7 "
Ash, 2.6 "
The average weight of the hull of the chestnut is 15.9 percent of the total weight of the fresh nut, and 23.4 percent of the average weight of the dried nut. The above data are confirmatory of the statement that the meal of the chestnut in its composition is very much like that of the oily cereals, for instance, of Indian corn meal or oats. It, however, contains more oil and less protein than the cereals referred to. It is readily seen from the above data that chestnut meal may not properly take the place of Indian corn as human food. The nut of the chestnut tree ripens at the time of frost.
The wild chestnut shrub, which springs up in great numbers where the the original trees are cut away, is now extensively grafted with cultivated varieties. In Pennsylvania there are large orchards of the Paragon chestnut which have been grown in this manner.
Chinese Nut (Nephelium litchi Cambess.).—This is not a true nut in the ordinary sense of the word, but is usually classed with nuts. It is a product of China and is imported into the United States for consumption by our Chinese population. In the fresh state in China it has the reputation of being one of the best fruit products of that country, having flesh of a white color and a flavor resembling that of high-grade grapes. 41.6 percent of the fresh nut is refuse matter. The edible portion has the following composition:
Water, 17.9 percent
Protein, 2.9 "
Fat, .2 "
Starch and sugar, 77.5 "
Ash, 1.5 "
Calories per pound, 1,453
The above data show that in chemical composition the Chinese nut does not belong to the class of nuts at all. It is a fruit, its nutritive material being almost exclusively carbohydrates, while in the true nut the principal nutritive substances are the protein and the oil.
