What Tree Do Pine Nuts Come From?

Cooks add pine nuts to a variety of foods to enhance the flavor. Pesto, for example, is a popular food that is made with pine nuts and basil. Harvesting and preparing pine nuts is a labor-intensive process, making these tiny nuts quite expensive to buy.

Identification

• Pine nuts are also known as the Indian nut, pignolia, pignoli or pinon. Several species of pine trees produce pine nuts, which are located in each segment of the pine cone. According to University of Florida, IFAS Extension, pine nuts are often harvested from pinyon pine trees that are found in the Southwest United States. Other types of nuts are imported from overseas.

Types

• There are several popular varieties of pine nuts. The Mediterranean or Italian pine nut is the most expensive variety and is light in taste and color. The Chinese pine nut is a stronger tasting nut. Both types of these imported pine nuts have thin shells that are ivory-colored and average half an inch in length.

  The pinyon trees that produce pine nuts are usually found in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. Harvesting of pinyon pine nuts is strictly controlled by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

Considerations

• Harvesting the pine nut requires a bit of work. Pine trees produce pine cones that have two pine nuts on each segment of the pine cone. Heating is required to remove the nuts and removal is quite time-consuming.