Harvest promises good season for chestnuts

The trees are bare, it gets dark earlier, and the morning mist are enveloping us again. Autumn has arrived, and with it the annual aroma of roasted sweet chestnuts. And like every year, the well-known chestnuts stand at Zug station is in full swing.
The sale of roasted sweet chestnuts (or ‘heissi marroni’) started five days ago in the city of Zug.
 
“We’re lucky that we’ve been able to change our old location by the taxis. Sales are a lot better at the station entrance,” says Marianne Clasen. There’s also been a marked improvement in the quality of the chestnuts this year: up to now, there have been no problems with pests, the so-called gall wasps. The hot summer has also helped to ensure that the first harvest is of a very good quality.
 
According to Clasen, the prices charged by the Italian suppliers have nevertheless risen slightly. "The customer don’t notice this, as the selling prices remains the same as last year." You pay still CHF 15.50 for 500 grams of ‘marroni’. This is the second season in the marroni stall for the 56-year-old. Like most of the stalls, the one at the station entrance is run privately - the stand belongs to a colleague who operates a second stall in Lucerne, she explains.
 
Business with the marronis seems to be going rather well so far, but customers are not so eager to buy them in good weather as during gloomy and foggy weather, adds Marianne. They expect about 100 customers per day. "Hopefully, the next harvests will have the same quality at the recent one, so that business will be good throughout the winter season through to February," says the marroni seller. Despite milder autumn temperatures, she looks forward to the coming period, and hopes for better profits than last year.


Chestnuts are not only delicious, but also very nutritious. The hot fruit contain many ingredients and vitamins that are vital for the human body. They are even suitable for diabetics, because they contain no glucose or fructose, and are also ideal for people who want to watch their weight, as they contains little fat and only 210 calories.
 
Hot chestnuts can not only be bought in the CIty, but also in the municipalities of Baar and Cham. There is a stand by the Town Hall in Baar, and two stands in Cham - on the Zugerstrasse and the Luzernerstrasse. One stand has opened in Zug so far, and, as reported above, is next to the station entrance by Metall.