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pine nut

 
Dictionary: pine nut

n.
The edible seed of certain pines, such as the piñon.


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Sci-Tech Encyclopedia: Pine nut
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The edible seed of more than a dozen species of evergreen cone-bearing trees in the genus Pinus, native to the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. The important nut-producing species are the stone pine (P. pinea) of southern Europe; the Swiss stone pine (P. cembra), native to the Swiss Alps and eastward through Siberia to Mongolia; and the pinon pine (P. cembroides var. edulis) of the arid regions of the southwestern United States. The seeds or nuts, variable in size according to species, are borne in cones which take 3–4 years to develop. See also Pine.


Food and Nutrition: pine nuts
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Or pine kernels, edible seeds of various species of pine cone, especially Mediterranean stone pine, Pinus pinea.

Also called Indian nut, piñon, pignoli and pignolia this high-fat nut comes from several varieties of pine trees. The nuts are actually inside the pine cone, which generally must be heated to facilitate their removal. This labor-intensive process is what makes these nuts so expensive. Pine nuts grow in China, Italy, Mexico, North Africa and the southwestern United States. There are two main varieties. Both have a thin shell with an ivory-colored nutmeat that averages about 1⁄2 inch in length. The Mediterranean or Italian pine nut is from the stone pine. It's torpedo-shaped, has a light, delicate flavor and is the more expensive of the two. The stronger-flavored Chinese pine nut is shaped like a squat triangle. Its pungent pine flavor can easily overpower some foods. Pine nuts can be found in bulk in natural food stores, and packaged in many supermarkets. The Chinese variety will more likely be available in Asian markets. Because of their high fat content, pine nuts turn rancid quickly. They should be stored airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 months, frozen for up to 9 months. Pine nuts can be used in a variety of sweet and savory dishes and are well known for their flavorful addition to the classic Italian pesto. See also nuts.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: pine nut
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pine nut or piñon (pĭn'yən, pē'nyōn), edible seed of various species of pine trees. Among the North American species that bear such edible seeds are the nut pines or piñons, Pinus edulis and P. monophylla, and the Digger pine, P. sabiniana, named after the Diggers of California. The nuts have a thin red-brown shell and range in size from about 3/4 in. (1.91 cm) to about 11/2 in. (3.75 cm). Pine nuts, or Indian nuts, were an important food for some early Native Americans and are still harvested in quantity both for food and for trading. They are picked from the ground, taken from squirrel caches, or extracted by hand from the cones. Some pine stands are in danger of depletion because insufficient seeds are left for reproduction. Pignolia nuts are the seeds of P. pinea of S Europe, where they are cultivated and much used for food. Quantities are exported to be used salted and in confectionery. Seeds of numerous other European and Asian pines are gathered under many local names. The name pignolia is often applied to all pine nuts and vice versa.


Nutritional Values: The Nutritional Value for: pine nuts
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Quantity Energy
(calories)
Carbohydrates
(grams)
Protein
(grams)
Cholesterol
(milligrams)
Weight
(grams)
Fat
(grams)
Saturated Fat
(grams)
1 oz 160 5 3 0 28.35 17 2.7
Wikipedia: Pine nut
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Stone Pine cone with pine nuts - note two nuts under each cone scale

Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus Pinus). About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food.[1][2][3]

Contents

Afghan Pine nuts

Afghan Pine nut (Jalghoza Siya), is one of the most expensive and delicious of pine nuts. The color of this species of the pine nut is black and is typically a few millimeters smaller than European pine nuts. It's mostly harvested in the northern part of Afghanistan, but Nejrab city of Kapisa province is one the countries most harvister of pine nut. The pine trees are mostly in the hells of the Hindu Kush mountain.

Species and geographic spread

In Europe, pine nuts come from the Stone Pine (Pinus pinea), which has been cultivated for its nuts for over 6,000 years, and harvested from wild trees for far longer. The Swiss Pine (Pinus cembra) is also used to a very small extent.

In Asia, two species are widely harvested, Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis) in northeast Asia (the most important species in international trade), and Chilgoza Pine (Pinus gerardiana) in the western Himalaya. Four other species, Siberian Pine (Pinus sibirica), Siberian Dwarf Pine (Pinus pumila), Chinese White Pine (Pinus armandii) and Lacebark Pine (Pinus bungeana), are also used to a lesser extent.

In North America, the main species are three of the pinyon pines, Colorado Pinyon (Pinus edulis), Single-leaf Pinyon (Pinus monophylla), and Mexican Pinyon (Pinus cembroides). The other eight pinyon species are used to a small extent, as are Gray Pine (Pinus sabineana), Torrey Pine (Pinus torreyana) and Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana). In the United States, pine nuts are mainly harvested by Native American tribes.[citation needed]

Ecology and status

In the United States, millions of hectares of productive pinyon pine woods have been destroyed due to conversion of lands, and in China, destructive harvesting techniques (such as breaking off whole branches to harvest the cones) and the removal of trees for timber have led to losses in production capacity.[2]

Physical characteristics

European Stone Pine nuts (Pinus pinea) to be compared with the picture below

Pine nuts contain, depending on species, between 10–34% protein, with Stone Pine having the highest content.[2] They are also a source of dietary fiber. When first extracted from the pine cone, they are covered with a hard shell (seed coat), thin in some species, thick in others. The nutrition is stored in the large female gametophytic tissue that supports the developing embryo (sporophyte) in the centre. Although a nut in the culinary sense, in the botanical sense pine nuts are seeds; being a gymnosperm, they lack a carpel (fruit) outside.

The shell must be removed before the pine nut can be eaten. Unshelled pine nuts have a long shelf life if kept dry and refrigerated (at –5 to +2 °C); shelled nuts (and unshelled nuts in warm conditions) deteriorate rapidly, becoming rancid within a few weeks or even days in warm humid conditions. Pine nuts are commercially available in shelled form, but due to poor storage, can have poor flavour and may be already rancid at the time of purchase.

European pine nuts may be distinguished from Asian ones by their greater length in comparison to girth; Asian pine nuts are stubbier, shaped somewhat like long kernels of corn. The American Pinyon nuts are known for their large size and ease of shelling. In the United States, P. edulis, the hard shell or New Mexico and Colorado became a sought after pine nut species due to the Trading Post System and the Navajo people who used the nuts as a means of commerce. The Italian pine nut, (P. pinea) was brought to the United States by immigrants and became a favored treat along the East Coast until the early 1930's when bumper crops of American Pine nuts were readily available at low prices.

Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis) pine nuts - unshelled, and shell, above; shelled, below

Culinary uses

Pine nuts have been eaten in Europe and Asia since the Paleolithic period. They are frequently added to meat, fish, and vegetable dishes. In Italian they are called pinoli or pignoli[4] and are an essential component of Italian pesto sauce. The pignoli cookie, an Italian specialty confection, is made of almond flour formed into a dough similar to that of a macaroon and then topped with pine nuts. Pine nuts are also featured in the salade landaise of southwestern France. Pine nut coffee, known as piñón (Spanish for pine nut), is a speciality found in the southwest United States, especially New Mexico, and is typically a dark roast coffee having a deep, nutty flavour; roasted and lightly salted pine nuts can often be found sold on the side of the road in cities across New Mexico to be used for this purpose. The Nevada Pine Nut, or Great Basin pine nut has a sweet fruity flavor and is relished for its large size, sweet flavor and ease of peeling. Pine nuts are also used in chocolates and desserts such as baklava. It is also a widely used ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine, reflected in a diverse range of dishes such as kibbeh, sambusek, ladies' fingers and many others.

Throughout Europe and Middle East the pine nuts used are from Pinus pinea (Stone Pine). They are easily distinguished from the Asian pine nuts by their more slender shape and more homogeneous flesh. Due to the lower price, Asian pine nuts are also often used, especially in cheaper preparations.Pine nuts contain thiamine, vitamin B1 and protein. One study indicates that pine nut oil may suppress appetite. [5]

Risks of eating pine nuts

A small minority of pine nuts can cause taste disturbances, developing 1–3 days after consumption and lasting for days or weeks. A bitter, metallic taste is described. Though very unpleasant, there are no lasting effects. This phenomenon was first described in a scientific paper in 2001.[6] Some publications have made reference to this phenomenon as "pine mouth".[7]

Pine nut oil

Pine nuts can be pressed to extract pine nut oil, which is valued both for its mild, nutty flavour and its health benefits such as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action.[citation needed]

Other similar seeds

The large edible seeds of species of the Southern Hemisphere conifer genus Araucaria, notably Araucaria araucana (Pehuén) of Chile, Araucaria bidwillii (Bunya) of Australia and Araucaria angustifolia (Parana pine) of Brazil, are also often called, although improperly, pine nuts, though, in its original countries are called more appropriately as piñas, pinhas or pinhões. The Juniper's seeds are edible too; they are used to make gin.

See also

References

  1. ^ Farjon, A. (2005). Pines. Drawings and descriptions of the genus Pinus. Koninklijke Brill ISBN 90-04-13916-8.
  2. ^ a b c Lanner, R. M. (1981). The Piñon Pine. A Natural and Cultural History. University of Nevada Press ISBN 0-87417-066-4.
  3. ^ Lanner, R. M. (1981). Made for Each Other. A Symbiosys of Birds and Pines. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-508903-0.
  4. ^ Locally also pinoccoli or pinocchi; Pinocchio is the Tuscan (Florentine) word for "pine nut", from Latin *pīnuculus. (Devoto, Battisti-Alessio)
  5. ^ School of Psychology, University of Liverpool (28 February 2008). "The effect of Korean pine nut oil (PinnoThin) on food intake, feeding behaviour and appetite: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial.". PubMed. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18307772?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed. Retrieved 2009-09-11. 
  6. ^ Mostin M. (March 2001). "Taste disturbances after pine nut ingestion". Eur J Emerg Med. (Belgian Poison Centre) 8 (1): 76. doi:10.1097/00063110-200103000-00036. http://www.euro-emergencymed.com/pt/re/ejem/fulltext.00063110-200103000-00036.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-09. 
  7. ^ Christopher Middleton (May 2009). "Pine mouth puzzle: Why do these nuts leave you with a bitter taste?". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1184261/Pine-mouth-puzzle-Why-nuts-leave-bitter-taste.html. Retrieved 2009-09-01. 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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