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Pine-Nut.com Your Source for Pine Nuts and Information |
We have Pine Nuts! Serving North America for over 40 years!
Pine nuts ( pine nut ) is also known as pinyon, piñon nut, pignolia, and pignoli, the Spanish explores called them piñon, as they are knownby most Hispanics. Pine Nut is commonly misspelled as being a whole word "pinenut". This species of seed or fruit comes from pine tree pinecones, which are the edible seeds inside of the cone (see picture above). This Pinyon Pinenut is for people, birds, squirrels etc. The shelled (no shell) pinenuts are a great addition to any recipe and the non shelled (in shell) type are a great snack for you or your parrot or hamster etc. The oils found in the Nevada soft shell pine nuts and the New Mexico Pinon Nuts are very good for your health and very tasty too...delicious that is. Pinenuts are found in there natural environment and are harvested in the US every year. Some season the seed will not be as plentiful and in other seasons that are prosperous and bountiful we call it a "bumper year" for "bumper crop".
When pine nuts are shelled they can be added to recipes to make a great pesto, salad, dessert or anything you can cook or roast. This nut has much nutritional value including Essential Factty Acids, which are oils that the cells in your body function off of.
The Natives in America would harvest pinenuts for there nutrition during the winter seasons. As it is discovered that a healthy diet that includes this seed, also known to the SouthWestern natives as Pinon Nuts, on a frequent basis during the winter helps provide for a healthy body that is more resistant to a person catching a cold, having allergies, hazy vision in the cold and cloudy months, dry skin and poor digestion. Tribal families and members harvest this pinon nut annually for tradition purposes as well as the benifits or taste and food for the season.
The SouthWest Pinon is a smaller fruit in comparison to the Nevada Soft Shell Pine Nut and has a rich flavor. Many people whom are accustomed to this smaller variety will prefer them over the Nevada variety due to there rich flavor. However, those whom are accustomed to larger variety love the richness of the taste and more meatier seed and prefer those Nevada ones over the New Mexico Pinon.
It is strongly believed that pine nuts or pinenut abundance in a harvesting season is a good indicator to determine the forcast of temperature levels in the shortcoming season. Better said the more pinenuts in a season, the more colder the temperature will be that winter.
We Currently use the Pine Nut and Pinon Nut Varietes listed below:
- Nevada Soft Shell
- New Mexico Hard Shell
- Arizona
- Utah
- California
- Colorodo
- Mexcio
- Siberian
- Chinese
- Russian
- Pakistanian
- Portugulian
- Korean
If you are a wholesaler of any type of pine nuts (pinon nuts) such as the New Mexico and Arizona piñon, and would like to provide for us, please give us a call.
The Nevada and California soft shell pinenut and the New Mexico and Arizona hard shell Pinon are a local seasonal nuts that are harvested in the fall and winter, we normally only have them during the fall and winter. So look for them on this website during the Fall and Winter.
* Remember: We only provide our customers with the Best Tasting and most nutritious nuts available.
Pine Nut History and Characteristics The pinyon pine nut (seed) will begin its development in early spring. It begins when the tree grows stems of pollen an average of six inches in length (light brown powder in appearance) which in time is carried away by the wind or by other means, so called pollination. From the time of pollination through to the end of summer a tiny cone about the size of a marble will develop. This pre-mature cone will either remain dormant (a sleep) until the spring or shrivel up and wither a way due to the harshness of its environment. When spring begins, once again, the surviving cone will recommence its growth to maturity as far as it’s environment permits. The cone will develop much rapidily than the year prior and by mid-summer (June) will show signs of seed development. If nature is favorable the cone will be spared from being dried up by the suns rays (on the hotter summers or days) and by mid-August near its completion to maturity. Depending on the environmental conditions of that year the cone could reach maturity as early as the ending of August or Mid-September. Upon reaching its maturity and with the suns help (and heat), the cone will begin to open and become dryer as the seeds inside ripen. Taking into consideration the conditions the seed may already be fully developed and ripened (edible) before the cone is completely open. Therefore, with the environment at favorable conditions, a pine nut (seed) will be formed and reach its fully developed and mature phase in a matter of 18 months. Pinecone Characteristics and Ecology Pinecone production in regards to Elevation The elevation that a pinyon pine tree is found at is most important to the determining the amount or even possibility of a tree producing pinecones or pine nuts. Pinyon pine tree cone production is most commonly found at an elevation between 6,000 to 8,500 feet and ideally at 7,000 feet. This is due in fact that increased temperatures at elevations lower than 6,000 feet, during the spring, will dry up humidity and moisture contents (particularly snow packs), that provide for the tree throughout the spring and summer, causing little nourishment for pinecone maturity. Although there are several other environmental factors such as clouds and rain that determine the conditions of the ecology, without this nourishment (water) the cones are more susceptible to perishing and the tree will tend to abort the cone(s). There are certain topographical areas found in lower elevations, such as in shaded canyons, where the humidity remains constant throughout the spring and summer allowing the pinecones to fully mature and produce seed. At elevations above 8,500 feet the temperature will substantially drop, drastically affecting the state of the dormant cone. During the winter, the change in temperature, along with gusty winds, with their severity, can cause the cone(s) to be susceptible to freezing that damages the fruit permanently, in which case, growth is stunted and the cone withers away. Taking all variables into consideration, canyons tend to be a shield for the pinyon pine, protecting it from the harhness of its environment in which not only does shade allowing humidity to remain longer for nourishment but weather ( as in wind and blizzards ) is calmer and allows the cones to remain safely on the tree. Sunlight is another important factor. It is found that areas that receive little or no sunlight tend to have very few if any cones on those particular pinyon pines. Wikipedia Expanded Page on Pine Nuts (more facts on this pine nut) Answers.com Page on Pine Nuts (general information on pine nuts) |
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