Co-Op Custom Mills Chestnuts
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With the help of the regional non-profit Rural Action, the Route 9 Cooperative is expanding markets for chestnuts, turning them into pancakes, bread, and even beer. The co-op was formed to help a group of chestnut producers in southeast Ohio market their nuts. It all started when Amy Miller’s grandfather planted chestnut trees in the late 1950s.
“My father turned a chestnut sales hobby into a business in the 1980s selling chestnut flour and peeled nuts,” says Miller. “He got a grant to develop machines for the process, but then the fresh market emerged.”
Soon, the Millers were selling out the bulk of their nuts as fresh each fall and buying and selling those produced by neighbors. By 2009, production exceeded 60,000 lbs. of nuts, and five growers formed Route 9 Cooperative. A common packing and storage facility with shared administrative and marketing costs made economic sense.
Today, the co-op offers fresh nuts in season, freshly peeled kernels, dried kernels, and chestnut flour. They even custom-mill chestnuts for grits and other culinary uses. They also sell chestnut and Chinkapin oak seeds, bare-root seedlings, and container nursery stock (4 to 5 ft.).
“We mainly sell fresh chestnuts in shell, but as more chestnut trees are planted and come into production, we expect the market to become saturated,” says Miller. “We want to be ready with other products when it does.”
Supplies fluctuate with nut production (2023 produced a small crop), and fresh Grade A nuts (the highest quality) often sell out in November. Usually, around 20 percent of production is not suitable for fresh sales. Grade B nuts, which are smaller and less consistent in size, are processed and available in late November in quantities as high as 25 lbs. or up to 50 in special orders. Milling of Grade B nuts generally starts in January and goes through March. The co-op also offers directions for using fresh, peeled, and dried nuts and nuts in recipes on their website.
“My personal favorite is a recipe for chestnut pancakes,” says Miller. “It’s a family recipe we had on special occasions.”
While the co-op has an active online retail sales presence, it also sells in the wholesale market. The larger buyers repackage and distribute, mainly to the northeastern states today.
“There’s a lot of interest in exploring the use of chestnut flour, especially because it’s gluten-free,” says Miller. “People on restricted diets and others are experimenting with many different products.”
Flour samples and other processed chestnuts were provided to bakers and brewers. They made bread, pastries, and beer. Chestnuts were even used in ice cream.
“A big win was getting a famous chef in New York City to try the flour,” says Michelle Ajamian, Rural Action. ”Now he’s ordering it every year for a seasonal offering.”
Rural Action and Route 9 are hoping to expand the effort. They have applied for a grant to lease a coffee roaster to dry and roast chestnuts. The goal is to create different flavor profiles and provide bakers and brewers with samples to experiment with.
“Drying and peeling equipment is available from Turkey and Italy, both large chestnut-producing countries,” says Miller. “My dad invented an impact peeler and had it custom fabricated. However, it’s not available on the market. We’ve considered making plans for it available. We think ours is better than those from Turkey and Italy.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Route 9 Cooperative, 4300 Germano Rd. SE, Carrollton, Ohio 44615 (ph 330-205-1390; www.route9cooperative.com) or Rural Action, 9030 Hocking Hills Dr., The Plains, Ohio 45780 (ph 740-677-4047; www.ruralaction.org)
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Co-Op Custom Mills Chestnuts FARM HOME Food With the help of the regional non-profit Rural Action the Route 9 Cooperative is expanding markets for chestnuts turning them into pancakes bread and even beer The co-op was formed to help a group of chestnut producers in southeast Ohio market their nuts It all started when Amy Miller’s grandfather planted chestnut trees in the late 1950s “My father turned a chestnut sales hobby into a business in the 1980s selling chestnut flour and peeled nuts ” says Miller “He got a grant to develop machines for the process but then the fresh market emerged ” Soon the Millers were selling out the bulk of their nuts as fresh each fall and buying and selling those produced by neighbors By 2009 production exceeded 60 000 lbs of nuts and five growers formed Route 9 Cooperative A common packing and storage facility with shared administrative and marketing costs made economic sense Today the co-op offers fresh nuts in season freshly peeled kernels dried kernels and chestnut flour They even custom-mill chestnuts for grits and other culinary uses They also sell chestnut and Chinkapin oak seeds bare-root seedlings and container nursery stock 4 to 5 ft “We mainly sell fresh chestnuts in shell but as more chestnut trees are planted and come into production we expect the market to become saturated ” says Miller “We want to be ready with other products when it does ” Supplies fluctuate with nut production 2023 produced a small crop and fresh Grade A nuts the highest quality often sell out in November Usually around 20 percent of production is not suitable for fresh sales Grade B nuts which are smaller and less consistent in size are processed and available in late November in quantities as high as 25 lbs or up to 50 in special orders Milling of Grade B nuts generally starts in January and goes through March The co-op also offers directions for using fresh peeled and dried nuts and nuts in recipes on their website “My personal favorite is a recipe for chestnut pancakes ” says Miller “It’s a family recipe we had on special occasions ” While the co-op has an active online retail sales presence it also sells in the wholesale market The larger buyers repackage and distribute mainly to the northeastern states today “There’s a lot of interest in exploring the use of chestnut flour especially because it’s gluten-free ” says Miller “People on restricted diets and others are experimenting with many different products ” Flour samples and other processed chestnuts were provided to bakers and brewers They made bread pastries and beer Chestnuts were even used in ice cream “A big win was getting a famous chef in New York City to try the flour ” says Michelle Ajamian Rural Action ”Now he’s ordering it every year for a seasonal offering ” Rural Action and Route 9 are hoping to expand the effort They have applied for a grant to lease a coffee roaster to dry and roast chestnuts The goal is to create different flavor profiles and provide bakers and brewers with samples to experiment with “Drying and peeling equipment is available from Turkey and Italy both large chestnut-producing countries ” says Miller “My dad invented an impact peeler and had it custom fabricated However it’s not available on the market We’ve considered making plans for it available We think ours is better than those from Turkey and Italy ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Route 9 Cooperative 4300 Germano Rd SE Carrollton Ohio 44615 ph 330-205-1390; www route9cooperative com or Rural Action 9030 Hocking Hills Dr The Plains Ohio 45780 ph 740-677-4047; www ruralaction org
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