| Differences
of Pinon nuts, Italian pignolia and the Nevada Pine nut.
The correct
pronunciation of Pinon is "pin - yon". This is not a second
spelling. Watch for this misspelling - you might be mistakenly
buy Nevada pine nuts..
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.
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