Harvest Time at Harrison’s Chestnuts in Gridley

By Kayla Anderson, Edible Sacramento

It’s harvesting season, and Harrison’s California Chestnuts in Gridley, California, is in full sweep, pick up, and bur removal mode.

The family-owned and -farmed chestnut orchard has been around since 2004. Its principal owner/head grower Sandy Harrison, alongside her son-in-law Kevin Murphy, are dedicated to growing, harvesting, and preserving freshness to get the best nuts out to their customers.

 

 

Harrison’s grows chestnuts of the colossal variety, known for their size and sweet flavor. Some of their chestnuts have even weighed up to a “colossal” 2.1 ounces in recent years. The good flavor of these chestnuts can be attributed to the family’s commitment to sustaining the orchards, but nature gets to take a lot of credit, especially for the loamy nutrient-rich “moist chocolate cake-like” soil of the Feather River basin, where these half-century-old nut trees thrive.

While there’s that famous lyric that gets repeated over Christmas about that one way to cook and enjoy the gluten-free tree grain, chestnuts are a lot more versatile than people are led to believe. To the point, you can do a lot more with chestnuts than just roast them over an open fire. Chestnuts can be microwaved or boiled, and even air fried (the Harrison’s preferred method for easy peeling). The bite-sized brain-shaped heart of a chestnut can be chopped and sautéed to go in many savory dishes, and it can even be mashed into a “chummus.” It’s also both a savory and a sweet ingredient, so the nuts and chestnut flour can be used to make great desserts, too. Chestnuts are a delicious addition to a fall-themed charcuterie board along with a ripe cheese, seasonal fruits and jams, bread, and red or white wine.

 

 

Chestnuts get sweeter as they cure and age. You know they have reached perfection when you can feel a little movement between the skin and the shell. You can flash-freeze them to extend their perishable shelf life, or dry then to mill into a gluten free flour.

“When making soup, I advise that you prep the chestnuts in advance and pop them in the freezer, so they’ll be ready when you want to make the soup and not have to make it an all-day production,” Sandy says. In her outdoor kitchen, she scores the chestnut shells and roasts the nuts in her air fryer or on her stovetop with a specialty roasting pan.

Chestnuts are beloved by many for their rich taste and health properties. They are lower in calories and fat than walnuts, almonds, pistachios, and cashews, yet just as delicious. They are more akin to a grain than a nut. “Chestnuts have a good balance of proteins, complex carbs, and vitamins, with virtually zero fat. They’re gluten-free and good for slow digestion.” Sandy says.

Chestnuts were used as a food source and the tree wood as a heat source in Europe for centuries before several cultivars of the trees migrated around the world. Chestnut trees can live to be hundreds of years old; a couple of the Colossal chestnut trees at Harrison’s are at least 50 years old.

Chestnuts form on the trees in May, and the generous trees produce several thousand chestnuts per acre. Harvest happens in September and October, when the entire crew at Harrison’s comes out to sweep up the nuts and remove the spiked burs that surround them. Unlike harvesting practices for other nuts, chestnut trees are not shaken. The nuts fall naturally to the orchard floor and then are picked up. It is a dirty and labor-intensive job for sure—as is all farming—but the Harrison’s do it for the love of the orchard, their long-term customers, and to carry on the legacy of Sandy’s late husband Paul Harrison. It is an all-hands-on-deck fall event for the family.

If you are looking to impress your friends and family with a delicious taste of fall, the best time to buy chestnuts is right now; don’t wait until winter. Shop seasonally and buy Harrison’s California Chestnuts before they sell out. Read more at the Harrison’s Chestnuts website. If you decide to purchase the chestnuts, click here and make sure to enter code EdibleEB2026 for 10 percent off.