The fruit

The chestnut is distinguished from the marron primarily by taste: it is sweeter and more fragrant, encapsulating and enhancing the aromas and flavors of the forest. Externally, the marron has a light brown, striped shell.

Moreover, the marron is significantly larger in size compared to the chestnut, as each husk contains a maximum of only 2 or 3 fruits.

Another of its qualities is that the marron is protected by a brown shell and a thin skin that can be removed very easily, an operation much more complex with chestnuts.

These characteristics make marrons the main ingredient in many culinary preparations that, in autumn, are celebrated on Italian tables and beyond.

The chestnut can be differentiated from the more esteemed marron by its smaller size, more elongated shape, and darker color of the outer shell.

The chestnut is considered of lower quality due to its less sweet taste and the greater difficulty in removing the inner skin, which penetrates more into the fruit's flesh.

Constituent Elements:

• Pericarp (shell): Smooth, firm, brown in color with variable tones, sometimes with external stripes and an internal fuzziness.

• Hilum or hilum scar: The base of the fruit, light in color and variable in size; it features a star-shaped radiance with or without residual fuzziness and punctate granulations called miliary granules.

• Torch: The tip of the chestnut consisting of remnants of the dried perianth and styles.

• Episperm: A suede-colored film that wraps around the seed and may or may not penetrate into the cotyledonary mass (flesh).

• Seed: It can be formed by one (as in marrons) or two cotyledons, and is rich in starch, firm, whitish inside, and yellowish on the outside.