The sweet aroma of hot chestnuts searing on an open pan permeates the picnic shelter as a man passes out Dixie cups full of roasted and pressure-cooked Chinese chestnuts from his table for attendees to try.
You may have heard the verse “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” from “The Christmas Song;” however, chestnuts aren’t only known for being tied to the catchy song popularized by Nat King Cole.
On Saturday, Oct. 1, the Center for Agroforestry hosted its annual Missouri Chestnut Roast Festival in New Franklin at the MU Horticulture & Agroforestry Research Farm.
At this free event, lines formed as students and families waited to tour the farm by tractor to learn about the cultivation of different fruits and tree nuts.
With 665 acres of land, the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Farm is dedicated to growing fruits like peaches, pawpaws, elderberries and watermelon. Tree nuts like black walnuts, northern pecans and, of course, chestnuts are also cultivated. Chinese chestnuts (Castanea mollissima) are specifically cultivated because they are more resistant to the fungus called Cryphonectria parasitica, or “chestnut blight,” as Mark Coggeshall, an MU researcher and Center for Agroforestry affiliate, mentioned on the tractor tour.
When asked why the festival was dedicated to chestnuts out of all nuts grown on the farm, Coggeshall described how — apart from North American species — chestnuts are native to Asia, Europe and Africa before they were brought to North America.
“Chestnuts are exotic and aren’t as well-known compared to a pecan or a walnut, so having an opportunity to let people learn and try these nuts at a festival helps educate others on this specific type of nut,” Coggeshall said.
The mini tractor tour was just one of the multiple events the festival hosted. MU students and families walked up and down the gravel lane that separated rows of colorful tents with vendors and organizations promoting different goods.
Some of the tents included Raw Roots Turmeric, which carried turmeric shots with medicinal benefits, and DryHoller’s Freeze Drying Service, where pieces of freeze-dried candy such as sweet chocolate chip cookie sandwiches and tart but flavorful Skittles were passed out.
Other tents were centered around nature and forestry; among these were: Missouri Nut Growers Association, Boonslick Master Gardeners, Missouri Master Gardeners, Missouri Native Plant Society, and a tent from Lincoln University showcasing ‘Native Edible Plants as Specialty Crops at Lincoln University. While these name a few, there were many more interesting tables that attendees enjoyed visiting.
At a table underneath the area’s picnic shelter, Miguel Salceda González, a Ph.D. student at the Center for Agroforestry, sold pawpaw slushies, which were partially frozen pawpaw (Asimina triloba) fruits grown from the farm. The pawpaw tastes like an icy mango-pineapple blend. In the center, the fruit has four large black seeds and is big enough to eat with a spoon.
“The pawpaw table is to promote pawpaws since it’s a native fruit that many people do not know about, and the funds were for the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center of the University of Missouri,” Salceda said.
Along with pawpaws, two types of chestnuts were being passed out for sampling: pressure-cooked and roasted. After trying both, the roasted chestnut had a smokey outer flavor with a subtly sweet inside. The pressure-cooked chestnut had a more distinct and gritty flavor with a mildly chewy inside.
In the background, music was playing from a nearby, larger tent where people gathered and sat around a stage that had a new singer or musician perform every half hour.
With the sound of a violin and melodic voices in the background, there was also the sound of pumpkins crashing from the pumpkin chunkin’ catapult. Children would pick out a pumpkin and let the instructors load it in the catapult. Eventually, the lever was pulled back, making creaking noises from the gears. The crowd cheered and kids laughed as their selected pumpkins were chucked into the air, smashing against a board 20-30 feet away.
On the other side of the pavilion where chestnuts were being passed out, pulled pork sandwiches, nachos, soda and chips were also attracting many friends, families and children as they refueled before making their way to the animals and yard games.
In the middle of an open area, kids enjoyed seeing animals such as two goats named Rosey and Daisy, a donkey and a mule, as well as yard games to play with.
Not too far from the animals and games, kids and their parents would hop or walk across hay barrels and mounds of gravel, which displayed the festival could be fun for all ages.
Another part of the festival was the Hickman House tour, where people could learn the history behind one of the oldest houses in central Missouri. Built in 1819 by Thomas H. Hickman, the University obtained the house in the ’50s as an Applied Field Research Center for the MU Horticultural & Agroforestry Research Center and the College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources. Along the side of the house, elderberry bushes were growing –– a reminder of one of the popular fruits grown on the farm.
People from a variety of backgrounds and cultures came to see and enjoy the Missouri Chestnut Roast Festival’s activities, and it will be back again next year for anyone who couldn’t attend.
Edited by Lucy Valeski | lvaleski@themaneater.comCopy edited by Emily Rutledge | erutledge@themaneater.com