OCR Text |
Show I CHESTNUT FLOUR OF CORSICA. Much Used but Produces Inferior Kind of Bread. Tho chestnut Is tho wheat of Cor slca, and Its Hour Is used In tho form of bread or polenta by tho peasants throughout the Island. Tho chestnuts t aro slowly dried over a smnll wood flrn and stored until required for grinding. Tho mills aro of tlio simplest sim-plest construction, and consist of a wooden water wheel whoso axis turns a mlllstono which crushes tho shelled chestnuts against a fixed stono. I ,Tho cheaper grades of flour aro ' of a dirty color owing to tho pros- t onco of particles of tho shells and contain between 11 and 12 per cont ot moisture. Tho composition of different differ-ent Varieties of tho flour has been determined recently by M. Comto, who finds that chestnut flour closely approximates wheat flour In Its food value. It contains nbout tho samo I .amount of starch, more fat and cellulose, cellu-lose, but less nitrogenous substancos (7 to 9 per cont, ns against 12 to 10 per cent In whoat flour). Chestnut flour attracts moisture very rapidly, and thorcforo soon becomes mouldy unless kept In airtight vessels. It has also tho drawback of hot bolng easily Influenced by tho action of yeast, and thus produces an Inferior kind of bread. |