"If one way is better than another, you may be sure it is nature's way." -- Aristotle

Pine Nuts (Eduble Pine Seeds)

Partly based on information sent to us by Penny Frazier (http://www.pinenut.com), as reposted from: FOREST@listserv.funet.fi -- 12/8/1998

All pine seeds are edible, but most are too small for humans to bother with. The larger the endosperm (the edible inside portion) and the thinner the shell, the more likely that it has been used for human consumption. One method of locating pine species in Mexico used by Dana K. Bailey and Frank Hawksworth in the 1970's was to visit the local food markets and examine the pinenuts for sale and inquire about the location of the trees which were their source.

Pine seeds are an important source of food for many animals and in some cases, the animals return the favor by cacheing the pine seeds and thereby inadvertenly planting them. The family of birds known as Corvidae (includes Clark's nutcracker, blue jays, crows) are especially important in this regard, a symbosis that involves over 20 species of pine, mostly of the Haploxylon (white pines) subgenus. An excellent book on this subject is Made for Each Other, by Ronald M. Lanner, ISBN 0-19-508902-2 (hardback) or 0-19-508903-0 (paperback). Also many rodents depend on pinenuts for food.

Most of the pine seeds that are utilized for human consumption come from species in the following subsections:

Cembrae (the "Stone Pines")

Cembroides (the "Pinyon, or Nut Pines")

Pinceana (the "Big Cone Pinyon Pines")

The edible pine seeds are:

• EURASIA
  • Mediterranean (Portugal, Spain, S. France, Italy) area : P. pinea ("Stone Pine, Umbrella Pine")
  • Alps and Carpathian Mountains: P. cembra ("Arolla, or Swiss Stone Pine") - small seeds
  • Central Siberia: P. sibirica ("Siberian Pine")
  • Eastern Siberia: P. pumila ("Dwarf Siberian Pine") - small seeds
  • Northern China & Korea: P. koraiensis ("Korean Pine") - any imported pinenuts from China will be this species
  • Northwest China: P. bungeana ("Lacebark Pine")
  • South China: P. armandii ("Armand's Pine")
  • Pakistan, Afghanistan, NW China: P. gerardiana ("Chilgoza Pine") - they are longer & more slender than most pine nuts; found in Indian food stores as "Chigoza nuts"
  
  
• NORTH AMERICA:
  • SW California: P. torreyana ("Torrey Pine") - very small area
  • S & Central California: P. coulteri ("Coulter Pine") and P. sabiniana ("Digger or Gray Pine")
  • California and S Oregon: P. lambertiana ("Sugar Pine") - not widely used because of the great height of these trees
  • NW & Central Rocky Mountains: P. albicaulis ("Whitebark Pine") & P. flexilis - seeds are small & rarely used
  • Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona & E Utah:  P. edulis ("Rocky Mountain Pinyon Pine")
  • E & Central California, Nevada, W Utah & Baja California Norte: P. monophylla ("Single-leaf Pinyon Pine")
  • Far S California & Baja California Norte (mixed with above): P. quadrifolia ("Parry Pinyon Pine")
  • Texas & NE Mexico: P. remota ("Paper-shell Pinyon Pine")
  • Mexico (widespread): P cembroides ("Mexican Pinyon Pine")
  • NE & Central Mexico: P. nelsonii ("Nelson's Pinyon Pine") and P. pinceana ("Weeping Pinyon Pine')
  • W Mexico (very small area in Zacatecas): P. maximartinezii ("Big-cone Pinyon Pine") - this species has the largest pinenuts which are approx. 1" (2.54 cm.) long

Many recipes for pine nuts (including salads, sauces, fish garnishment, puddings,cookies, cakes) are offered by Harriette Lanner in The Pinyon Pine by Ronald Lanner, ISBN 0-87417-065-6 (hard cover) and 0-87417-066-4 (paperback).

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