Pine nut: Difference between revisions

{{redirect|Pignoli|the Italian cookie|Pignoli (cookie)}}

{{other uses of|pine nuts|Araucaria nuts}}

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| alt2 = Shelled [[Korean pine]] (''Pinus koraiensis'') nuts

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==Species and geographic spread==

[[File:StonePine.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Stone pine]] – note two nuts under each cone scale|alt=[[Stone pine]] [[Conifer cone|cone]] with nuts – note two nuts under each cone scale]]

 

Pine nuts produced in Europe mostly come from the [[stone pine]] (''P. pinea''), which has been cultivated for its nuts for over 5,000 years. Pine nuts have been harvested from wild trees for far longer. The [[Swiss pine]] (''P. cembra'') is also used, to a very small extent.

**''Pinus culminicola'' – [[Potosi pinyon]]

**''Pinus edulis'' – [[Two-needle piñon]] or Colorado pinyon (when grown in Colorado)

**''Pinus monophylla'' – [[Single-leaf pinyon]]

**''Pinus orizabensis'' – [[Orizaba pinyon]]

**''Pinus remota'' – [[Papershell pinyon]] or Texas pinyon

**''Pinus sabiniana'' – [[California foothill pine]]

 

==Pollination and seed development==

 

 

Another option for harvesting is to wait until the cone opens on the tree (as it naturally will) and harvest the cone from the piñon pine, followed by the extracting process mentioned above. Fallen seeds can also be gathered beneath the trees.

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718042443/http://www.wholesalepinenuts.com/index.html

| archive-date= 18 July 2011

| url = https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_1/pinus/monophylla.htm

| publisher= USDA

When first extracted from the pine [[conifer cone|cone]], they are covered with a hard shell (seed coat), thin in some species and thick in others. The nutrition is stored in the embryo ([[sporophyte]]) in the center. Although a [[nut (fruit)|nut]] in the culinary sense, in the [[botany|botanical]] sense, pine nuts are seeds; being a [[gymnosperm]], they lack a [[carpel]] (fruit) outside.

 

 

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

 

==Nutrition==

 

When dried for eating, pine nuts are 2% water, 13% [[carbohydrate]]s, 14% [[protein]], and 68% fat (table). In a {{convert|100|g|oz|abbr=off|adj=on|frac=2}} reference serving, dried pine nuts supply {{convert|2815|kJ|kcal|abbr=off}} of [[food energy]] and are a rich source (20% or more of the [[Daily Value]], DV) of numerous [[micronutrient]]s, particularly [[manganese]] (419% DV), [[phosphorus]] (82% DV), [[magnesium]] (71% DV), [[zinc]] (67% DV), copper (65% DV), [[vitamin E]] (62% DV), [[vitamin K]] (51% DV), and the [[B vitamins]], [[thiamin]] and [[Niacin (nutrient)|niacin]] (29–35% DV), among others (table).

In Italian, they are called ''pinoli'' (in the US, they are often called ''pignoli'', but in Italy, ''pignolo'' is actually a word far more commonly used to describe a fussy, overly fastidious or extremely meticulous person)<ref>Locally also ''pinoccoli'' or ''pinocchi''; [[Pinocchio]] is the [[Tuscan dialect|Tuscan]] (Florentine) word for "pine nut", from [[Vulgar Latin]] *''pīnuculus''. (Devoto, Battisti-Alessio)</ref> and are an essential component of Italian [[pesto]] sauce; the upsurge in the popularity of this sauce since the 1990s has increased the visibility of the nut in America, primarily on the West Coast. ''Torta della nonna'' (literally "granny's cake") is a generic Italian dish name that in most families indicates an old family recipe for any cake but often is used for a [[tart]] or a [[pie]] filled with custard, topped with pine nuts and optionally dusted with [[icing sugar]]. [[Pignoli (cookie)|Pignoli cookies]], an Italian American specialty confection (in Italy, these would be called ''biscotti ai pinoli''), are made of [[almond meal|almond flour]] formed into a dough similar to that of a [[macaroon]] and then topped with pine nuts.

 

 

Pine nuts are also widely used in [[Levantine cuisine]], reflected in a diverse range of dishes such as ''[[kibbeh]]'', ''[[sambusak]]'', ''[[fatayer]]'', and ''[[Maqluba]]'', desserts such as [[baklava]], [[meghli]], and many others.<ref>Basan, Ghillie. ''The Levantine Table: Vibrant and delicious recipes from the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond'', Ryland Peters & Small, London, July 12, 2022</ref>

Throughout Europe, the [[Levant]], and [[West Asia]], the pine nuts used are traditionally from ''[[Pinus pinea]]'' (stone pine).{{Dubious|date=January 2012}} They are easily distinguished from the Asian pine nuts by their more slender shape and more homogeneous flesh. Because of the lower price, Asian pine nuts are also often used, especially in cheaper preparations.

 

===Taste disturbances===

Some raw pine nuts can cause pine mouth syndrome, a [[dysgeusia|taste disturbance]] lasting from a few days to a few weeks after consumption. A bitter, metallic, unpleasant taste is reported. There are no known lasting effects, with the United States [[Food and Drug Administration]] reporting that there are "no apparent adverse clinical side effects".<ref name="fda">{{cite web|title='Pine Mouth' and Consumption of Pine Nuts |url=https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm247099.htm |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20171104181535/https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm247099.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 November 2017 |date=14 March 2011 |access-date=2 January 2016|website=FDA.gov}}</ref> Raw nuts from ''[[Pinus armandii]]'', mainly in China, may be the cause of the problem.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=21559093|doi=10.1155/2011/316789 |title=Identification of the Botanical Origin of Commercial Pine Nuts Responsible for Dysgeusia by Gas-Liquid Chromatography Analysis of Fatty Acid Profile |year=2011 |last1=Destaillats |first1=Frédéric |last2=Cruz-Hernandez |first2=Cristina |last3=Giuffrida |first3=Francesca |last4=Dionisi |first4=Fabiola |last5=Mostin |first5=Martine |last6=Verstegen |first6=Geert |journal=[[Journal of Toxicology]] |volume=2011 |pages=1–7 |pmc=3090612 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Metallic taste disturbance is typically reported 1–3 days after ingestion, being worse on day two and typically lasting up to two weeks.<ref name=fda/> Cases are self-limited and resolve without treatment.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s13181-009-0001-1 |title='Pine Mouth' Syndrome: Cacogeusia Following Ingestion of Pine Nuts (Genus: ''Pinus''). An Emerging Problem? |year=2010 |last1=Munk |first1=Marc-David |journal=[[Journal of Medical Toxicology]]|volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=158–159 |pmid=20049580 |pmc=3550279 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ballin|first=Nicolai Z.|title=A Trial Investigating the Symptoms Related to Pine Nut Syndrome|journal=[[Journal of Medical Toxicology]]|date=17 February 2014 |volume=8 |issue=3|pages=278–280 |doi=10.1007/s13181-012-0216-4 |pmid=22351301|pmc=3550163}}</ref>

 

==Other uses==

[[Category:Pinus]]

[[Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine]]