What do Water Chestnuts Really Taste Like?

If i'm stuck eating some sort of meat and vegetables dish from a Chinese carry-out and it contains little slices of water chestnuts, the first thing i do is pick them all out.  Yuck!  But see above? These don't look like the nasty tasting things that add that weird crisp crunch to your stir fry, do they?

No, I do appreciate the crisp crunch, but I love them by themselves, pared like a hard fruit. I actually thing of them just that way - like nutty little apples.  

While you might not mind them thrown in a stir fry, try them fresh if you ever get a chance. They'll surely make you rethink everything you knew about water chestnuts!