Chestnut test: Almost every second sweet chestnut was inedible

It turned out that almost every second sweet chestnut was inedible, as the VKI announced on Wednesday. The result was independent of whether the chestnuts were prepackaged or sold loose.

“Unfortunately, almost every second sweet chestnut turned out to be inedible,” said VKI project manager Nina Eichberger. Almost 30 products from various branches of Billa, Hofer, Lidl, Penny, Spar as well as Ajcan and Etsan were purchased for the test. At the Viennese markets, the experts bought both pre-packaged 500 grams of chestnuts and loose goods. The quality was most similar at Lidl and Hofer, the failure rate was significantly higher at Penny, Spar and the Vienna markets, according to the VKI. However, not even every second fruit of the chestnuts that were offered at Ajcan, Billa and Etsan was edible.

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At the same time, there were also purchases at eight chestnut stands in Vienna, Lower Austria and Styria. The conclusion of the samples: Although the sweet chestnuts at the stands were more expensive than in the supermarket, the quality of the products was superior to those from retailers. At least three quarters of the chestnuts purchased at almost all stalls were edible and, according to the testers, also tasted okay.

Big difference in price

However, there were big differences in the price: the price per kilo of chestnuts from retailers and markets was between 3.49 and twelve euros. On average, this corresponds to a unit price of between three and 19 cents. The chestnuts from the stand cost 30 to 40 cents each.

With a simple tip you could quickly clarify at home which sweet chestnuts are still edible, said Eichberger: “There are two simple tests that can be used to determine the freshness of chestnuts: Either you put them in a large pot with lukewarm water and sort out those fruits that don’t sink, or you do the pressure test: If you feel a cavity, the chestnuts are no longer flawless either.”

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