What are chestnuts? Would they count as meat and beans or vegetable or fruit?

If you followed the food guide pyramid (such as the one given by the government, http://mypyramid.gov/pyramid/index.html, or one you found somewhere else...), what category would chestnuts fall under? They don't seem to have enough protein in them to count as meat/beans, so I don't know... ALSO, how many chestnuts would count as one serving? Thank you!

What are chestnuts? Would they count as meat and beans or vegetable or fruit?
Legend has it that the Greek army survived on their stores of chestnuts during their retreat from Asia Minor in 401-399 B.C.



Chestnuts contain twice as much starch as potatoes. It is no wonder they are still an important food crop in China, Japan, and southern Europe where they are often ground into a meal for breadmaking, thus giving rise to the nickname of "bread tree."



If you are tempted to eat chestnuts raw, think again. These nuts must be boiled or roasted before eating due to the high levels of tannic acid. The nuts are cured for about a week to permit their starch to develop into sugar, thus sweetening the meat. They must be cooked completely in order to avoid digestive discomfort.



Chestnut Stuffing Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup shelled chestnuts, chopped

10 slices stale white bread

3 tbsp butter or chicken fat

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup diced celery

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

1/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup chicken broth





Instructions

Prepare nuts: make a slit on each side of the nut with a sharp-pointed paring knife and boil gently 20 minutes. Strip off shell and thin brown skin. Dip nut in cold water to remove shell and skin more easily.



Pull bread apart into bite-size pieces, dropping into a 3-quart bowl. Saute onion and celery until transparent. Sift salt, pepper and seasoning over crumbs, toss to mix. Add broth, toss, then add vegetables and chestnuts, mix lightly again. Stuff lightly into turkey.
Reply:There is too much info for me to post here...but try the following link



http://www.utc.edu/Faculty/Hill-Craddock...