The chestnuts

The ancients used to say that “when you eat a chestnut, you forget your sufferings” when they wanted to emphasize the beneficial properties of this delicious fruit. Known in antiquity, they were a choice food for Gods and people, and they constitute “the bread”, the daily food of the mountain populations during the winter. Chestnuts are especially popular during the Christmas season and are an ingredient in many festive recipes.
The chestnuts of the Alona area are tasty and large. The perimeter of the village, located at the foot of the Pisoderio mountain, is covered by perennial chestnut trees. The exploitation of chestnut fruits was in the past a main source of income for the inhabitants of the village. In recent decades, however, the villages have been deserted, the younger people are not involved and chestnut production has decreased and lost its organized character.
On Wednesdays, during the winter, the sidewalks of Florina’s public market are flooded with people from Alona, lined up behind sacks full of chestnuts, selling them. Boiled or roasted, they are excellently accompanied with red wine and accompany us on winter nights. A beautiful nostalgic image is also the local chestnut trees that roamed the city in the winter and filled the streets of the city with aromas.

TEXT: Christos Tegos