When are water chestnuts available? Are old or young water chestnuts better?

Water chestnuts, also known as waist water chestnuts, water chestnuts, and water chestnuts, are sweet, cool, and non-toxic. They are the fruits of the annual herbaceous aquatic plant water chestnut. The skin of water chestnuts is crisp and the meat is delicious. They can be eaten after being steamed and boiled, or cooked into porridge. Water chestnuts are also divided into old and tender. Tender water chestnuts have a higher water content, and their taste will be more tender and juicy, and the sweetness will be more obvious. They are more suitable for fresh or fried food; while old water chestnuts have a higher starch content, a softer taste, and a bitter taste, and are more suitable for cooked eating. How to distinguish them? Please continue to browse.

Contents of this article

1. When will water chestnuts be available on the market?

2. Which water chestnut is better, old or tender?

3. How to judge the tenderness of water chestnuts

When are water chestnuts available?

The peak production period of water chestnuts is from September to November, and there is also production from May to August, but the quantity is relatively small. Water chestnuts mature and are available in February to April and July to August.

Water chestnut is another name for the European water chestnut and the fine-fruited wild water chestnut in the Trapezium genus of the family Trapezium. It is also known as waist water chestnut, water chestnut, and water chestnut fruit. It is sweet, cool, and non-toxic. It is the fruit of the annual herbaceous aquatic plant water chestnut. The skin of water chestnut is crisp and the meat is delicious. It can be eaten after steaming and peeling, or it can be made into porridge. Water chestnut is rich in protein, unsaturated fatty acids, and multiple vitamins and trace elements. It has the effects of diuresis, lactation, thirst quenching, and alcohol detoxification.

Is old water chestnut better or tender?

Each has its own taste and cannot be compared. It is recommended to choose according to your own preferences and eating methods. The water content of young water chestnuts is higher, and its taste will be more tender and juicy, and the sweetness will be more obvious, which is more suitable for fresh eating or stir-frying; while the starch content of old water chestnuts is higher, the taste is more floury and bitter, and it is more suitable for cooked eating, such as: boiling, stewing, porridge, etc.

How to judge the tenderness of water chestnuts

1. Pinch it with your fingernails. You can pinch the shell of the water chestnut with your fingernails. If it is easy to pinch in, it is a tender water chestnut, while the shell of the old water chestnut is relatively hard and difficult to pinch in.

2. Taste it. The shell of young water chestnuts is easy to peel, and the flesh is crisp and tender with a sweet taste; while the flesh of old water chestnuts is powdery and has a bitter taste.

3. Put it in water. Put the water chestnuts in water. If they float on the water, they are tender, and if they sink to the bottom, they are old.