The filling “nuc castanea,” which became the Spanish chestnut or Italian “marrone,” was known to the ancient Romans and traveled north with them from the Mediterranean to Hadrian’s Wall in England. As opposed to the equally filling field crops, the chestnut was not a result of agriculture, but rather came from the woods and pastures. The custom of planting edible chestnuts cultured from wild chestnuts instead of old, dead oak trees spread, especially in southern and central Europe. Not, however, to load up the markets of the Middle Ages with roasted chestnuts, but because they hoped to created an emergency replacement for grain with flour made from the chestnuts. In Italy, European chestnuts are still often called Albero del pane”—tree of bread.
