(or pi ñon, pinyon, pignolia) the names applied to the small edible seeds of many species of pine tree.
The finest pine nuts, which are most in demand for Arab, Spanish, and other dishes and confections, belong to the genus Pinus and to the northern hemisphere. Evidence of their use in the Middle East goes back to biblical times. The Mediterranean stone pine, P. pinea, grows at quite low altitudes, as anyone familiar with the landscapes of Provence, Italy, and the Middle East will be aware. Its nuts, imported to the USA, are the second most expensive nut on the market there, after the macadamia nut and in front of the pistachio.
However, the pine nut trees of N. America are important too; the most important are Pinus edulis, P. monophylla, and the Mexican pinyon, P. cembroides. Lanner (1981) gives a masterly account of the first two, including history, distribution, and uses; but his book has a wider scope, since it offers an explanation of how in the course of 180 million years the original tall pines of N. Asia arrived as little desert trees in Mexico and the south-west of the USA. He also provides an illuminating account of how the piñon tree and a bird, the piñon jay, aid each other's survival, and indeed evolutionary progress. The nuts have no seed wings, with which to travel, and are not viable if they simply drop to the ground. The jay is an intelligent bird which harvests the nuts and stores them under the surface of the soil in a manner which permits those which it does not eat to germinate. The other side of the coin is that the jay is dependent on the nuts for food, and also for the stimulation of its courtship and mating procedures.
Pine nut trees have also evolved closer to the area where the first pines grew. P. cembra, the Swiss stone pine, has a range which extends eastwards from the Alps; and P. gerardiana is a native of the Himalayas. P. koraiensis bears nuts in Korea, as its name indicates, and in the north of Japan and China. The Chinese export its nuts, which cost less than the European ones.
The best pine nuts are of high value, but are difficult to cultivate commercially. As Woodroof (1979) puts it, the trees ‘grow only under conditions that defy cultivation, fertilization, irrigation, and all kinds of mechanical spraying, harvesting and shelling. All operations are done by hand, in competition with rats, birds and insects.’ This is still true for many species and regions.
Most pine nuts are sweet, with an attractive flavour and good nutritional and keeping qualities. The European nuts contain about 30% protein, of an easily digestible kind; American ones have less protein and more oil. The size is variable; 1,500 to the pound weight is normal in New Mexico and Arizona, but pine nuts of the southern hemisphere tend to be larger.
Spanish explorers in the 16th century found American Indians making meal from the nuts, besides eating them raw or roasted. They also mashed them up to make a nut butter, or for soups. The pattern continues. Some pine nuts are still eaten out of hand, raw or roasted, but most are used as ingredients in cooking, especially in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region. They make a good ingredient for stuffings, both savoury and sweet. The famous pesto of Genoa cannot be made without them. Many sweet confections incorporate them; and the Tunisians, for example, add a few to their glasses of mint tea.
A product called pine milk is prepared by adding a little water to the kernels and pressing them. This keeps well and provides a fair substitute for meat in the diet.
The Araucaria pines, trees of the southern hemisphere, also bear edible nuts, e.g. A. bidwillii, the bunya-bunya pine of Queensland; A. araucana, the Chile pine or monkey-puzzle tree; and A. augustifolia, the para pine of Brazil.
See also kedrouvie nut.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Lanner, Harriette (1981), The Piñon Pine, Reno: University of Nevada Press.
Woodroof, Jasper Guy (1979), Tree Nuts, Westport, Conn.: AVI.
