Having gone largely unscathed by the bushfires in the Shoalhaven area, Sassafras Nuts is gearing up for this year’s chestnut picking season.
Starting on Saturday, March 28 and running until Sunday, April 26, nut lovers are in for a month-long treat once they get down to Sassafras Nuts – a chestnut and walnut farm located in the Budawang Ranges, just a two hour and forty drive from Sydney. (Featured image: Markus Spiske on Unsplash)
Having been growing nuts for the past 25 years, the team at the farm has a variety of chestnuts available like Morena, Red Spanish, Purton’s Pride, Bouche de Betizac; De Coppi and Sassafras Red, all of which are the easy to peel variety, as well as a specialist high-quality steel pan from Spain for you to take home and do your roasting with. (If you didn’t know, the streets of Spanish cities are filled with the smell of roasted chestnuts every autumn.)
But before you get to roasting, you’ll need to grab a bag and a bucket and get to picking. And all nuts picked by you are charged at only $8 the kilogram. However, if you don’t trust your eye to pick the perfect nut, pre-picked chestnut varieties can be purchased at the packing shed. Prices, though, vary depending on the grade.
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If you’re a real chestnut lover, call ahead and order a 10kg bag to take home and enjoy throughout the winter. Also, walnuts can be purchased in 5kg bags but cannot be picked due to a limited number of trees.
In order for the farm to be prepared for your visit, bookings are essential during the week and are recommended on weekends. Entry to the farm is free, however.
So get your crew together for a day trip and go nuts. But make sure to stop off in Nowra on the way and fill up your @emptyesky for a picnic once you’re at the farm.
Don’t forget to let us know on Facebook if you’re going.