# Pine Nuts



## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Our new place is covered with them. Aside from roasting what else can be done with them?


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## forluvofsmoke (Jan 27, 2012)

Do you mean to ask if there is another way to process them, or are you looking for ways to prepare them for eating other than just as snacks? I'll assume you're looking for different ways to eat them, as you say you have a lot of them (I'm in envy at this moment...LOL!!!)

As for ways to eat them:
-use them whole in your favorite granola base;
-add them to baking batters in which you normally use walnuts, pecans etc...could be substituted for other items such as raisins in oatmeal cookies;
-grind them up into a powder and make a soup similar to split-pea soup...toss in some cracked pine nuts for texture and salt to taste.

Just a few things that came to mind...BTW, as for drying, if you can lay them out in a sunny location they will dry enough to separate, but unlike many other other nuts/seeds I think they store better if they have been roasted...most nuts/seeds store longer when raw.

EDIT: bet they'd be good in peanut-better cookies...mmm-mmm-mmm!!!


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Thank you. I was walking around our new place Sat and noticed them laying all over the ground. The critters will have them all cleaned up long before we get back up there I'm sure.

My husband likes them roasted but I've never had them so I am looking for other uses for them. Other ways to eat them. I read that you can get oil from them so I may try that too.


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

terri9630 said:


> Thank you. I was walking around our new place Sat and noticed them laying all over the ground. The critters will have them all cleaned up long before we get back up there I'm sure.


Well in the past 2 weeks I've re-located about a dozen squirrels, they could have been your squirrels, instead of Waste Management.

*Rancher*


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

azrancher said:


> Well in the past 2 weeks I've re-located about a dozen squirrels, they could have been your squirrels, instead of Waste Management.
> 
> *Rancher*


No thank you! We are replacing lots of insulation in the new place because of those tree rats. They managed to get into a wall and made a huge mess.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Pine nuts +basil+ olive oil = pesto. Pesto is a great way to make all that flour or pasta you may stock into an excellent meal.


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## timmie (Jan 14, 2012)

okay i am fixing to show my stupidity. i have heard of pine nuts but have never seen them nor do i know for sure where they come from or what they taste like. can somebody please explain this to me?:surrender:


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

timmie said:


> okay i am fixing to show my stupidity. i have heard of pine nuts but have never seen them nor do i know for sure where they come from or what they taste like. can somebody please explain this to me?:surrender:


I'm with Timmie. I've asked this question before, and got no answer, so here I go again. Are pine nuts really from pine trees? If so, are all pine tree seeds edible, or does it have to be a specific type of pine? If not, then where do they come from (other than those tiny glass jars at the supermarket).


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

terri9630 said:


> Our new place is covered with them. Aside from roasting what else can be done with them?


For Timmie and me, please post a picture of what pine nuts look like "in the wild."


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

I bought some at Costco a couple years ago. I found this image online.


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## timmie (Jan 14, 2012)

weedygarden said:


> I bought some at Costco a couple years ago. I found this image online.


okay , i assume since the cones are brown now is the time to harvest them?


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

Eat them any way you eat peanuts.
I like them with cheese.

Health benefits of pine nuts
Pine nuts are one of the calorie-rich edible nuts. 100 g of dry-kernels provide 673 calories. Additionally, they comprise of numerous health promoting phyto-chemicals, vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals.

Their high caloric content chiefly comes from fats. Indeed, the nuts are especially rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids like oleic acid (18:1 undifferentiated fat) that helps to lower LDL or "bad cholesterol" and increases HDL or "good-cholesterol" in the blood. Research studies suggest that Mediterranean diet which contain good amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants, helps to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes by favoring healthy blood lipid profile.

Pine or cedar nuts contain essential fatty acid (omega-6 fat), pinolenic acid. Recent research has shown its potential use in weight loss by curbing appetite. Pinolenic acid triggers the release of hunger-suppressant enzymes cholecystokinin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in the gut. In addition, pinolenic acid has thought to have LDL-lowering properties by enhancing hepatic LDL uptake.

Likewise in almonds, pines too are an excellent source of vitamin E; contain about 9.33 mg per 100 g (about 62% of RDA). Vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant, required for maintaining the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting it from harmful oxygen-free radicals.

Furthermore, pines are one of gluten free tree nuts, and therefore, are a popular ingredient in the preparation of gluten-free food formulas. Such formula preparations can be a healthy alternative in people with wheat food allergy, and celiac disease.

Pine nuts are an excellent source of B-complex group of vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) and folates. These vitamins work as co-factors for enzymes in cellular substrate metabolism inside the human body.

Furthermore, pine nuts contain healthy amounts of essential minerals like manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium. At 8.802 mg per 100 g (about 383% of daily recommended intake), pines are one of the richest sources of manganese. Manganese is an all-important co-factor for antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. It is therefore, consumption of pines helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals.

Pine nut oil has a delicate flavor with sweet aroma, and is being employed in many traditional medicinal applications. The main chemical components in pine oil are borneol, bornyl acetate, a and ß-phellandrene, a-pinene and ß-pinene. Its emollient property helps to keep skin well protected from dryness. It has also been employed in cooking, and as "carrier or base oil" in traditional medicines in aromatherapy, in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry.

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/pine-nuts.html


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

weedygarden said:


> I bought some at Costco a couple years ago. I found this image online.


So I guess the nuts are in between the "petals" of the pine cone? That was my first thought, but wanted verification. I guess I should brush up on my google-fu.


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## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

Ezmerelda said:


> So I guess the nuts are in between the "petals" of the pine cone? That was my first thought, but wanted verification. I guess I should brush up on my google-fu.


I'll throw a wrench into the equation, I don't believe all pines produce nuts... some produce a small seed with a feather like appendage transportation system... around here it is Pinyon Pine that produce nuts.

*Rancher*


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

azrancher said:


> I'll throw a wrench into the equation, I don't believe all pines produce nuts... some produce a small seed with a feather like appendage transportation system... around here it is Pinyon Pine that produce nuts.
> 
> *Rancher*


True, but you can eat them.
There are about 20 species of pine trees that produce the large pea size pine nuts.
Plant a pine nut & you will have more pine nuts in about 20-30 years.

Colorado Pinyon - mature

Common Species: there are about 115 Pine species, but only about 20 of them are useful for nut production. I have 16 of them listed below, and the most important Nut Pines (largest nuts, highest producers, easily found for planting, etc.) are in bold:

Chinese White Pine (Pinus armandii) - Asia
Lacebark Pine (Pinus bungeana) - Asia
Swiss Pine (Pinus cembra)
Mexican Pinyon, Mexican Pine Nut, Mexican Stone Pine (Pinus cembroides)
Coulter Pine (Pinus coulteri)
Colorado Pinion/Pinyon/Piñon, Rocky Mountain Piñon (Pinus edulis)
Chilgoza Pine (Pinus gerardiana) - Asia (western Himalayas)
Korean Nut Pine, Chinese Nut Pine (Pinus koraiensis)
Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana) - North America
Single-leaf Pinyon (Pinus monophylla) - North America
Italian Stone Pine, Umbrella Pine, Parasol Pine (Pinus pinea)
Siberian Dwarf Pine (Pinus pumila) - Asia
Parry Pinyon (Pinus quadrifolia) - North America
Gray Pine (Pinus sabineana) - North America
Siberian Pine (Pinus sibirica) - Asia
Torrey Pine (Pinus torreyana) - North America

http://tcpermaculture.com/site/2013/11/13/permaculture-plants-pine-trees-for-pine-nuts/


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## Texas (May 14, 2013)

Pinion Pine trees produce the nuts we use around here. We have a place near Ruidoso NM that has 4 on our property and millions on the BLM land around us. Now is harvest time for them and it is a pain in the butt.

The sap is on its way down the tree for winter and when you remove the pod it oozes all over you. I like to wait for them to fall to the ground to harvest. Still sticky but not as bad. Our favorite way to eat is raw. Wash the sap off with water. Put some in your mouth and crack em like sunflower seeds. Takes a little practice but worth it. 

The local coffee shops sell Pinion Nut flavored coffee. It is very good.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

I didn't take pictures of them and am currently down in the desert not up in the mountains. They come out of the pine cones and kinda look like peanuts, just smaller. There is a family that sells them near here but I've never paid much attention to them but my husband has bought some and enjoyed them. They were roasted like peanuts. The seeds of all Pines are supposed to be edible but most are to small and hard to get to.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

We have the pinion Pines at our place.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_nut

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/StonePine.jpg/170px-StonePine.jpg


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

crabapple said:


> True, but you can eat them.
> There are about 20 species of pine trees that produce the large pea size pine nuts.
> 
> http://tcpermaculture.com/site/2013/11/13/permaculture-plants-pine-trees-for-pine-nuts/


Great resource, Thanks!


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