A large, spreading tree up to 35 m tall and having a girth up to 1 - 3 m. It is prized for its timber in Europe where the tree is coppiced. The young timber is tough and durable but the old growth wood is of little use except firewood.
Nut yields of mature trees can reach 5,000 kg per hectare. Chestnuts can be eaten raw, but are tastier freshly roasted, boiled or preserved by drying or pickling.
Nutritional composition of fresh chestnuts per 100 grams of edible portion is: Water - 52.5%, Energy - 194 calories, Carbohydrate - 42.1 g, Fat - 1.5 g, Protein - 2.9 g, Ash - 1.0 g, Calcium -27 mg, Potassium - 454 mg, Sodium - 6 mg, Magnesium - 41 mg, Iron - 1.7 mg, Phosphorous -88 mg, Iodine - 0.002 mg, Thiamin - 0.22 mg, Riboflavin - 0.22 mg, Niacin - 0.6 mg and the digestion time is 2.75 hours.
Nutritional composition of dried chestnuts per 100 grams of edible portion is: Water - 8.4%, Energy - 377 calories, Carbohydrate - 78.6 g, Fat - 4.1 g, Protein - 6.7 g, Ash - 2.2 g, Calcium -52 mg, Potassium - 875 mg, Sodium - 12 mg, Iron - 3.3 mg, Phosphorous - 162 mg, Chlorine -1 mg, Sulphur - 300 mg, Silicon - 4 mg, Thiamin - 0.32 mg, Riboflavin - 0.38 mg, Niacin - 1.2 mg.