The return of the American chestnut

On a hill just outside the Gold Rush town of Nevada City, Calif., about an hour northeast of Sacramento, stands a sweet 1890s Victorian farmhouse surrounded by several acres of venerable-looking gardens. ¶ There are craggy cherry and plum trees and an apple tree so old it's little more than a hollowed-out stump that somehow still manages to sprout green branches. The grapevine that covers a backyard arbor has a trunk at least a foot around. ¶ But pride of place belongs to a pair of chestnut trees, probably 60 feet tall and at least a yard across. It's not often that a couple of trees are singled out in real estate ads, but these were. And no wonder -- from these two trees sprang most of the chestnuts now grown in the United States. ¶ Chestnuts in California? Certainly, it's easy to think of them as strictly an East Coast nostalgia food, part and parcel with frosty city sidewalks and Jack Frost nipping at whatever exposed body parts he can find. ¶ But in fact, these nuts have a long history in the Golden State, one that a handful of growers are struggling to keep alive. And if all you've ever had are stale imported supermarket chestnuts -- many of which are even moldy -- these California nuts can be a revelation, delicately sweet and slightly chewy. ¶ At one time, the chestnut tree was one of the most numerous on the North American continent. It is estimated that they accounted for between a quarter and a third of all the trees that grew in the huge forest that once blanketed the area from northern Georgia to New England.

By RUSS PARSONS

November 5, 2008