Qualifirst Review: Chestnut Purée, Maple Sugar

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Qualifirst Foods

Part 3, and final, part of my Qualifirst review is for their Chestnut Purée from France and Crystallized Maple Syrup from Quebec. I had never worked with either of these ingredients, but I love trying new foods and recipes so I was excited to test them out!

Qualifirst Maple Sugar and Chestnut Purée 

Maple Sugar 

Of course I had to taste the little maple nuggets right away. I love maple syrup, and these tasted just like that, only in solid form. I tried them with walnuts on my morning oatmeal (delish!) but I wasn't exactly sure how to incorporate them into a recipe. I thought they would be great sprinkled on my GF shortbread cookies just before baking or used in a crumble for a coffee cake. In the end I decided to use them in my Maple Chestnut Cheesecake Mousse. They added a delicious sweet crunch and balanced out the earthiness of the chestnut purée. 

Maple sugar and walnuts on oatmeal 

Maple Chestnut Cheesecake Mousse

Chestnut Purée 

This is something I really haven't worked with or even tried before. I expected the purée to be kind of pumpkin like in consistency but it was way more dense. Almost the texture of smooth mashed potatoes that have been sitting in the fridge over night. The flavour is nutty and earthy, but not too intense. I found that it had to be whisked pretty vigorously to break it up and mix it with other ingredients. I used it to make a Maple Chestnut Cheesecake Mousse and it was amazing. The textures and flavours of chestnut were perfectly balanced by the creamy cream cheese, sweet maple and airy whipped cream. I only used 2/3 cup of the purée for a mousse that fed 6 people, so I need to think of some more ways to use it up! Pinterest, here I come. 

For the rest of my Qualifirst Review check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Disclaimer: Samples were provided to me free of charge. All opinions are my own.