DATE: Wednesday, April 16, 1997             TAG: 9704150055

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BETTY DOUGLASS, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   49 lines

DON'T MIND THE MUD ON THOSE FRESH WATER CHESTNUTS

WATER CHESTNUTS are grown in mud along the edges of ponds, lakes and marshes.

In their fresh form, they look like muddy little tulip bulbs dressed in shabby brown to black coats decorated with frayed leaf scales. This isn't because they have been poorly tended. When harvested, water chestnuts are left coated with a thin layer of mud to keep them from drying.

Most water chestnuts are imported from China, but small farms in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and California have had some success at harvesting them.

Once you have learned to use fresh water chestnuts, most cooking experts say, you will never want to use the canned ones again. The fresh ones have a sweet taste and crunchy texture. One teacher of Oriental cooking compares them to apples or coconuts. Cooked, they smell and taste remarkably like baby summer corn.

Water chestnuts are irregularly available year round in Asian markets and some area supermarkets.

Selection and storage: When buying fresh water chestnuts, squeeze each one and avoid any that are soft. They should be as hard as a potato. Water chestnuts bruise and spoil easily, so buy a bit more than you think you'll need. There is also is a large amount of waste in peeling. Those that look somewhat shiny are best, but rather scruffy specimens are fine if they have not begun to shrivel.

Karen Lee, an Oriental cooking instructor in New York, tells her students to store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Do not peel or slice them until the day they are to be used. Peeled water chestnuts can be frozen in a resealable container or bag and used as needed.

Preparation: Just before using, scrub any mud off the water chestnut, then remove a thin slice from either end. Pare the chestnut with a knife or vegetable peeler, and then slice, juilienne or chop as desired.

They may be served raw or cooked. If you cook them, do so only until they are heated through. Longer cooking will remove their sweet flavor.

Nutritional information: Water chestnuts are low in calories, with only 35 calories per cup, cooked. They contribute substantial amounts of potassium and small amounts of the B vitamins to the diet, and they are low in sodium. MEMO: Betty Douglass is a free-lance food writer and home economist in

Portsmouth. All recipes in this article have been kitchen-tested by the

author. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot

Fresh water chestnuts have a sweet taste and crunchy texture.

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