Pinglu Chestnuts

Pinglu Chestnuts

　　Locally known as "hairy chestnuts," wild chestnut trees are abundant in the eastern part of Pinglu County. The chestnuts are attractive in appearance, glossy, low in moisture, high in flour yield, and have delicious, sweet, tender flesh that is easy to peel. Pinglu chestnuts are highly nutritious. According to analysis, they contain 5–10% protein, 10–20% sugar, 7.4% fat, 60% starch, as well as vitamins and fatty acids. They are delicious whether eaten raw, boiled, fried, or used in cooking, are easily digested and absorbed, and can also be made into exquisite and tasty pastries. Since ancient times, chestnuts have been regarded as a premium food. Empress Dowager Cixi often ate chestnut flour "steamed buns" as a tonic. Various parts of the chestnut tree — including the bark, flowers, fruit, shells, leaves, and roots — can be used medicinally, making it a very versatile medicinal plant. The chestnuts can nourish the stomach, strengthen the spleen, nourish kidneys, fortify tendons, promote blood circulation, and stop bleeding; the leaves can treat throat abscesses and inflammation; the shells can treat acid reflux, diabetes, and bloody stools; the flowers can treat scrofula and dysentery; the inner shell can relieve bone stuck in the throat; the chestnut husk can treat erysipelas; and the tree bark can treat boils and wounds. The chestnut tree is also an excellent industrial material. Its bark contains pigments that can be used as dyes; the husks are rich in tannins and can be used to produce tannic extract; the wood is hard, temperature-resistant, and acid-resistant, making it ideal for sleepers, bridges, ships, construction, and furniture.