Quite Curious

hestnuts and purple yams are some of those things that look and sound unappealing until you actually try it. I had nothing planned this cold weekend so I thought I would stay inside and bake to warm the house up. The thing I like about chestnuts and yams is that they’re so delicious by themselves, and don’t require any preparation other than washing and turning on the oven.

You’re probably wondering what on earth a purple yam is. Yams are - well, that sweet mushy stuff you have next to the turkey on Thanksgiving. Purple yams are the same thing, but with a slightly different taste and entirely different color. I can’t actually tell you the difference in taste between the two because I don’t remember the last time I had a regular yam - I’ve been eating purple yams since my mom introduced me to them.

Purple yams aren’t as popular here as they are in Asian countries. “In the Philippines it is known as ube (or ubi) and is used as an ingredient in many sweet desserts. In Vietnam, it is called khoai m? and is used mainly as an ingredient for soup. In India, it is known as ratalu or violet yam. In Hawaii it is known as uhi.” (Wikipedia). Wikipedia doesn’t list it, but it’s also popular in Japanese sweets, which is what I’m most familiar with. It’s called “Beni-imo” in Japan. My mom makes tempura with it, which is simply incredible.

Purple yams in some countries is what strawberry is to us. It’s a common flavor used in cakes, pastries, shakes, cookies, ice cream and anything else with sugar in it. But what’s great about it is that it’s high in nutritional value, tastes rich but is low in fat, AND the bright purple color can be used as natural food coloring.

The photo on the left is a Filipino version of the French “Mont Blanc” pastry. (Source: Flickr) Ah, inspiration. But baked by themselves, they’re sweet and creamy on the inside - but the best part is the caramelized crunchy skin on the outside. YUM.

As for chestnuts, this is my first time making them in the oven. (I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a convenient open fire.) They didn’t turn out so well. Some were good, but most came out crumbly - and that woodsy peel refuses to come off! I’ve boiled them in the past and that turned out better. If anyone has any suggestions - please leave a comment below.

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I bought these fresh chestnuts at an Asian grocery store last week. They were selling hot ones in paper bags outside but I wanted to make them myself. It was $5.23 for this bag. I didn’t know until later that they are highly perishable. I should have made them earlier, or refrigerated it. Oops. Maybe that’s why they came out so crumbly?

Here are the purple yams. I also got them at the Asian grocery store. They were $1.99/lb, I got this bag for $2.89. They look like ordinary tubers, you’d never guess they were purple inside. Here’s some advice - when you buy purple yams, buy the small ones. They’re sweeter and have more flavor.

Yams aren’t the most attractive vegetables in the world. I took several shots of these guys and they look like yellow lumps in all the photos. Oh well. But they’re delicious, really.

I love the way chestnuts look. They look like something squirrels would hoard in the winter. The first person to ever heat up a chestnut and eat it was probably shocked.

The yams are splotchy purple on the inside. They become dark purple when they’re cooked.

Coated the yams in a little bit of oil to help them cook. I cut them in half, but you don’t have to.

I tried to space everything out the best I could. I baked the chestnuts at 350F for 20 minutes, and the yams at the same temperature for 45 minutes.

A warm yam, ready to eat. There are few things in nature that are this purple, and this sweet. It still amazes me.

Warm chestnuts, right out of the oven! The “x” I marked in them (see video) cracked open, and they smelled like winter to me.

I had difficulty getting the chestnut out. The woodsy outer shell came off easily, but there was a thinner layer of the same woodsy stuff stuck to the chestnut. I eventually resorted to a small spoon when my thumbs got tired, but even that didn’t help. (Any suggestions?)

This chestnut came out perfect. Pale yellow on the inside, and not too dry.

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