Pine nut question

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angel101

Assistant Cook
Joined
Aug 30, 2004
Messages
21
Location
AB CANADA
I found a pine nut crusted salmon recipe, on the recipe form.but I have never tried pine nuts before.do they taste more piney or nuttie?I have salmon steaks out for dinner tonite and need a good recipe for a coating. angel
 

Silversage

Head Chef
Joined
Aug 31, 2004
Messages
1,506
Location
Florida
I don't think they taste "piney" at all.

I think they're really a seed, not a nut, but the closest I can think of a description of taste is a mild, slightly sweey nut.
 

GB

Chief Eating Officer
Joined
Jul 14, 2004
Messages
25,510
Location
USA,Massachusetts
Pine nuts are delicious. They do not taste like pine at add. I have been eating them as a snack lately. I toast up a bunch and sprinkle a little salt on them and just eat them as is.
 

-DEADLY SUSHI-

Washing Up
Joined
Mar 9, 2004
Messages
6,070
Location
NW Chicago Burbs'
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Pine nuts are neither pine-EE or nut-EE. They are more like if tiny grapes joined a gang..... thats what they taste like. ;)
 

SeleneSue

Assistant Cook
Joined
Aug 31, 2004
Messages
7
Location
Los Angeles
More nutty than piney, particularly when toasted a little. Yum!

For the love of heaven, thought, TAKE THEM OUT OF THE SHELLS FIRST. I cannot overemphasize this tooth-breaking detail. I've had a bad experience tasting a dish by a pine-nut neophyte who did not know this. Ow.

:eek:
 

Barbara L

Traveling Welcome Wagon
Joined
Apr 4, 2004
Messages
15,716
Location
Somewhere, US
I always thought they tasted too piney. I haven't had them in years. I guess I will have to try them again!

:) Barbara
 

SierraCook

Master Chef
Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
5,580
Location
Sierra Valley, Northern California, USA
As the resident Forester on the board, I think I have a little experience on this subject. Pine nuts are an edible seed of the Pinus species of conifer trees. Pine nuts grow inside of pine cones. They are very difiicult to harvest because removal from the pine cone usually takes heating. All of the pine trees have edible seeds. Pine nuts are also called Pignoli. Click on the link below for a picture of a singleleaf pinyon.

http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/topics.cgi?earl=plant_profile.cgi&symbol=PIMO&photoID=pimo_2h.jpg
 

Jikoni

Sous Chef
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Messages
865
Location
Kenya and Switzerland
SierraCook said:
As the resident Forester on the board, I think I have a little experience on this subject. Pine nuts are an edible seed of the Pinus species of conifer trees. Pine nuts grow inside of pine cones. They are very difiicult to harvest because removal from the pine cone usually takes heating. All of the pine trees have edible seeds. Pine nuts are also called Pignoli. Click on the link below for a picture of a singleleaf pinyon.

http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/topics.cgi?earl=plant_profile.cgi&symbol=PIMO&photoID=pimo_2h.jpg

Thanks that has really helped. I have always wanted to make my own pesto sauce and needed pine nuts, but had no idea what they looked like and couldn't ask in the shops either as I don't even know what they are called in French.
 

Constance

Master Chef
Joined
Oct 17, 2004
Messages
8,173
Location
Southern Illiniois
"All of the pine trees have edible seeds."
Thanks for the info, Sierra. I have always wondered if I could harvest the seeds from our local pine trees. It's no big deal to heat the cones...I used to stick them in the microwave to open them up and melt the sap to make them shiny for wreaths. The seeds would just fall out.
By the way, dawgs, all nuts are seeds.
 

licia

Executive Chef
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
3,835
Location
USA,Florida
The nuts in our pine cones are so small it would take ages to get a spoon ful. The only way I've ever eaten them is to put the brown petal containing the nut between my teeth (like an artichoke) and pull it thru. It taste a bit like peanut butter to me. If that was the type we had to depend on, they would be even more expensive that they already are.
 

Piccolina

Executive Chef
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
4,319
Location
Toronto, Canada
I've found that organic pine nuts have more of a pine hint to them than non-organic, but neither tastes like a pine tree (lol, or what I would imagine a pine tree to taste like). I love them to pieces and use them in everything from salads to pasta to muffins (raspberry or blackeberry pine nut muffins - yum!) :)
 
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