'Tis the season for Roasted Chesnuts

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December 19, 2025 | 1:37pm

MANILA, Philippines — "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

So goes "The Christmas Song," a classic Christmas carol that is so popular it's been sung and recorded by so many artists, from Nat King Cole and Johnny Mathis to Christina Aguilera.

The music was composed by Mel Tormé, who co-wrote the lyrics with Bob Wells, and the song describes several vivid images of the yuletide season, including — as the opening line indicates — chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

To this day, one knows it's already the Christmas season when stalls, particularly in outdoor food areas of major shopping malls, are roasting and selling castañas (the Spanish term for chestnuts).

A popular autumn and winter street food in East Asia as well as in Europe (especially Italy, Spain, France, Austria, Portugal, and Turkey) and other countries, chestnuts also go by the names castanhas assadas (Portuguese) and gunbam (Korean).

In the Philippines, it is most popularly known as chaolìzi, its Chinese name, since it is from Binondo Chinatown that most Filipinos learned to enjoy roasted chestnuts.

Chestnuts are really cooked and sold in Chinatown's streets — roasted with sand in big vats on the sidewalk. Once can buy them still piping hot by the kilogram (or half, or one-fourth), peeling off the shell and eating them after cooling down a bit.

While some still roast them in a big vat over open fire to recreate that vivid image of Christmas in people's minds and entice them to buy, most chestnut vendors in a mall setting now utilize a compact modern machine that roasts chestnuts over controlled heat to make them super safe.  

While roasted chestnuts are a bit expensive, people still buy them because they are delicious and they form part of the Christmas experience.

Apart from that, they offer health benefits for the body being low in fat and calories compared to other kinds of nuts, and they are rich in fiber, Vitamin C, and complex carbohydrates.

They contain antioxidants that fight oxidative stress, support heart health, help manage blood pressure, aid digestion, and regulate blood sugar.

Chestnuts also contain essential fatty acids, potassium, and iron, thus providing high energy level that sustains you throughout the day, as well as benefit eye health and nerve function.

Roasted chestnuts are usually enjoyed as an "anywhere, anytime" snack. Simply crack and peel off their shell, and pop them in your mouth. Enjoy them this Christmas!

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