About edible pine nuts

Pinon nuts, pine nuts &
Italian pignolia

The correct pronunciation of Pinon is "pin - yon". In practical usage - This is not a second spelling. One prominent online vendor is calling Nevada Pine nuts (large pine tasting pine nut) "PINYON" or even worse spelling it pinon i their advertising.

The New Mexico Piñon Nut act clarified thecorrect spelling and what can be called pinon nuts. Watch for this misspelling - you might mistakenly buy Nevada pine nuts. And they normally retail for 50% less at least.

Pine trees are common, less known perhaps is the fact that some members of the pine family also bear edible seeds or "nuts". Out of the 100 recognized species of true pines, only a `few produce nuts of sufficient quality and desirable flavor to make them worth eating.

Pine nut varieties that have different names are from different species of Pine trees. Pine nuts from New Mexico called Pinon nuts are called Pinon or Piñon by Law in New Mexico. Pinon is a name derived from the Spanish word for pine nut. Pinon nuts come specifically from the pine tree species: pinus edulis. They taste different from other varieties. The pinon pine tree is a two-needled pine which grows wild in high desert mountain areas of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. These edible nuts are not to be confused with the "single needle" pine tree from Nevada. The pinon nut grown primarily on Indian reservations in the Southwest United States is normally roasted in the shell. Their availability is rather scarce, and the pinon nut must first be removed from the shell prior to consumption. New Mexico Pinon nuts are very difficult to harvest, hence their cost.

Pine nut development in North America is modest in comparison with that in Europe. The Italian pine tree, with superior timber, is larger and grows faster than the stunted pinon of the southwestern United States. Italian stone pine plantations are well established in Mediterranean Europe, while the American pinon remains mostly neglected and uncultivated.

About European Pine nuts

The most common in Europe is the "pignolia" nuts of the Italian stone pine, grown for the most part in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and North Africa. In Italian stone pine harvests, the trees are shaken to remove the kernel. Once removed, they are dried further before being processed in a milling station to remove the kernel from its hard outer shell. The kernels and shells are separated by sifting; the testa, or thin skin which still covers the kernel, is then removed. Thereafter, the kernels are graded and sized. Superior, unblemished, shelled kernels, both large and small, are reserved for the export market; the remaining kernels are sold locally or utilized in prepared foods. Although pignolia nuts may be eaten out of hand, raw or roasted, they have the distinction of being the only nuts used predominantly as ingredients for cooking. For many centuries in European cookery, they have been blended with meats, fish and poultry, and have been used in many different sauces.

Real New Mexico Pinon nuts are called Pinon or Piñon by Law in New Mexico. Pine nut varieties have different names for a reason. Real Pinon nuts are are not often spelled any other way eg. "pinyon". 99% of people in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico say Pinon refering to "New Mexico Pinon" - from the pine tree species: pinus edulis. Please do not confuse Pinon nuts with Nevada Pine nuts from the species: pinus monophylla, They taste very very different! The pine family is one of the most familiar groups of evergreen trees in North America since it furnishes most of our traditional Christmas trees, provides a strong, excellent softwood timber and is an important source of turpentine and rosin. Less known perhaps is the fact that some members of the pine family also bear edible seeds, commonly referred to as nuts. Worldwide, approximately 100 species of true pines are recognized; of these about a dozen in the Northern Hemisphere produce nuts of sufficiently high quality and desirable flavor to make them worth gathering. “Pine nut” denotes any of these edible nuts. Other distinctions should be made, however, depending upon the geographical are involved. The most common designation for nuts in Europe is “pignolia”, a term which refers to pine nuts of the Italian stone pine, grown for the most part in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and North Africa. Nuts of a different species called “pinion”, a name derived from the Spanish word for pine nut, are produced in the western United States. These pinon nuts come mainly from the Pinon pine tree, a two-needled pine which grows wild in the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Pinon nuts should not be confused with the Nevada "Jumbo" pine nuts that sell for much less money. The pine nut dates from a remote period in time. Hosea was a minor Hebrew prophet who lived during the eighth century B.C in the kingdom of Israel. The Old Testament mentions the nut in Hosea 14:8 “I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.” Many Biblical scholars believe that this tree was the stone pine and the edible fruits referred to was the pine nut. The ancient Greeks and Romans appreciated the taste of the pine nuts. Among the Greeks, the stone pine was held to be a tree sacred to the god Neptune. Records exist that mention consumption of pine nuts around the beginning of the Christian era. The kernels were eaten, preserved in honey, during Pliny’s time. Archaeologists have found pine nuts among household foodstuffs in the ruins of Pompeii, destroyed by the violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The Roman Legions carried pine nuts among their provisions, evidenced by pine nut shells uncovered in refuse dumps of Roman encampments in Britain which date from the middle of the first century. During harvest, the cones of the tree are shaken to remove the kernel. Once removed, in comercial operations, they are dried further before being processed in a milling station to remove the kernel from its hard outer shell. The kernels and shells are separated by sifting; the testa, or thin skin which still covers the kernel, is then removed. Thereafter, the kernels are graded and sized. Superior, unblemished, shelled kernels, both large and small, are reserved for the export market; the remaining kernels are sold locally or utilized in prepared foods. Although pignolia nuts may be eaten out of hand, raw or roasted, they have the distinction of being the only nuts used predominantly as ingredients for cooking. For many centuries in European cookery, they have been blended with meats, fish and poultry, and have been used in many different sauces. Pine nut development in North America is modest in comparison with that in Europe. The Italian pine tree, with superior timber, is larger and grows faster than the stunted pinon of the southwestern United States. Italian stone pine plantations are well established in Mediterranean Europe, while the American pinon remains mostly neglected and uncultivated. The pinon nut grown primarily on Indian reservations in the Southwest United States is normally roasted in the shell. Their availability is rather scarce, and the pinon nut must first be removed from the shell prior to consumption.