Picking chestnuts in the fall at Solomons Island, Maryland

Updated: 10/10/2023

We got 50 lbs of chestnuts from our gracious neighbors! Brought back memories of this post ... and yes, it's time to make some glazed chestnuts again. Here's the original post:

When we bought our boat in Fort Lauderdale, we chose Newport, Rhode Island as our hailing port, thinking we will spend our summers in the sailing capital. 

Little did we know. 

Twice we cruised north from Florida, and both times got only as far as the Chesapeake Bay. There was so much to explore along the Eastern Seaboard that by the time we got to the Chesapeake Bay, summer would be almost over. Although fall is gorgeous up here, the cooler temperatures is a signal that it's time to head south to warmer climes.

One September found Mai Thai docked at Solomons Island, Maryland. Located on the Patuxent River, this neat little place is a cruiser’s haven, abound with restaurants, marinas, boatyards, and marine stores. We were walking the marina neighborhood one morning when my visiting sister-in-law spied something spiky lying around two mighty tall trees. Her curiosity piqued, she inspected one and guessed it to be a chestnut. This was before Google, but a search on the internet confirmed she was right. SIL dedicated the next few mornings to picking those chestnuts, returning with paper bags full of them goodies. We dubbed her the bag lady and joked that she was taking food away from the squirrels :-)

What were we going to do with all these chestnuts?

Chestnuts, in and out of their burs

Glazed chestnuts danced in our minds. 

Every time our cousins visit from Paris, they always bring us gifts of dark chocolate and marrons glacé (candied chestnut confection, usually available around the Christmas holidays). We got a production line going in Mai Thai's tiny little galley. We donned gloves to remove the chestnuts from their prickly husks or burs.

Washed, ready to be peeled

Next, we boiled and peeled them, then glazed them with sugar, and spiked some with a hint of Cognac. Voilà, we got marrons glacé! Not bad for our first try at making a candied confection. We were quite pleased with the results.

Glazing the chestnuts

Ta da! Les marron glacé, our candied chestnut confection

Crabbing is a popular activity

Blue crabs. Yum!

A pair of swans visited Mai Thai daily

lovely sunsets viewed from aboard Mai Thai

Solomons Island is a quick getaway from Washington, D.C. and Annapolis; both are 1.5 hours away. We are so glad we took the time to "smell the roses" and got the opportunity to discover so many lovely small towns along the East coast. We learned a lot about the Chesapeake Bay heritage and culture. The yummy blue crabs, the amazing sunrises and sunsets, and the abundance of wildlife beckoned us to return a couple years later.

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday, Image-in-ing, Little Things Thursday and Altered Book Lover.

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