Issue 11

A Prolific and Nutritious Nut

The prolific chestnut reportedly produced many millions of bushels of nuts in hundreds of thousands of square miles across the Eastern United States. A mature American chestnut tree could reliably produce as many as 6,000 nuts each year. In contrast, white oaks produce approximately 1,000 nuts per tree and red oaks produce about 2,000 nuts per tree—and neither family of oaks produces acorns reliably. Chestnuts are a high-energy food, containing roughly 11 percent protein compared to acorns, which average 6 percent. Chestnuts also contain around 16 percent fat and a whopping 40 percent carbohydrates.