Pine Nuts

I mentioned pine trees as a large edible tree  the other day.  Some of  you may be wondering, “Huh? How do I eat a pine tree?”.  Well, that’s what my kids would say at least.  But we won’t actually be eating pine needles or anything, but pine nuts ~ the expensive little delicacy used in pestos and other  delicious goodies.

The thing is, if you have a pine tree, you may already have pine nuts that you never even knew about!  And you will definitely be lucky if you already have a pine tree because if you need to plant one then don’t count on having any pine nuts for a good 10-20 years.

But don’t fret if you don’t have one.  Most people don’t know that they may  be growing pine nuts and if you knocked on their door to ask if you could harvest and clean up their pinecones, they would probably be thrilled that they don’t have to pick them up themselves!

Here is how to harvest them:

1. Harvest them in the fall when the pinecones aren’t quite open.
2. Place them in large paper bags in a nice cozy warm spot inside.
3. Wait until they open and drop their nuts into the bag.
4. Shell the nuts.
5. Lightly roast them.
6. Store the nuts in airtight containers.
7. Freeze any you want to keep for longer than 4-6 weeks.

Now not all types of pine trees will give you pine nuts, so try and get any of these species of pine trees below,  you might want to check around at your local nursery to see what types grow in your area but I have heard that the following species are good ones to try:

There you go!  A gourmet food source you may not have even known you had!

Remember, these are species of trees, not actual varieties.  So if you find a variety that you like that works well in your area that is among one of these species, then you’re good to go!  Let me know if you want me to dig up their actual fancy names for you.   You can try places like Gurney’s Seed and Nursery and Henry Fields Seed and Nursery that will ship right to your door or your own local nurseries. Coming up in the next few days or weeks we will be getting into some more unusual edible plants that I am trying to find sources for in case you’re interested in adding them to your own yards so stay tuned!