Nevada Pine Nuts (unshelled)

[Darienne]

The topic title and description say it all.

I bought them this afternoon...couldn't believe the price. A pound for about $5. Was too stunned to realize that they were unshelled (I know, I know ).

How on earth do you shell these little doodads? And then what?

Thanks.

OK. I should have gone online first. But I still don't know how to shell them properly.

Edited October 24, 2010 by Darienne (log)

[andiesenji]

Wash the nuts well, several changes of water.

Preheat your oven to 350° F.

Spread nuts on baking sheet in one layer.

Roast for ten minutes. Remove from oven.

Spread nuts on a terrycloth towel, cover with another terry cloth towel.

Using a rolling pin, roll over the nuts firmly - check to see if the shells are breaking, if not use more force.

Most of the shells should loosen and stick to the towels. Once the nuts are shelled, store them in the freezer because they rapidly become rancid. In the freezer they will keep for a year.

[Darienne]

Thank you, thank you. I was beginning to wonder what I had gotten myself into.

[heidih]

Great info. Thank you! I have a tiny jar of pine nuts I foraged and have been afraid to do anything. To clarify- are we doing the rolling pin right out of the oven or letting them cool at all?

[Darienne]

Good question HeidiH.

My current thinking on the pine nut situation is that I should leave them in their current unshelled state, take them home and then unshell them. I can't possibly use them all before we leave Moab and I can't keep them frozen, or even cool perhaps, on the 5-day journey home.

I hope this is going to work out.

[Tom Gengo]

Hire a squirrel or leave them unshelled for the fiber (JK) Let us know how it turns out.

[andiesenji]

If you are going to store them in the shell, you must make sure they are completely dry. They should be in a porous bag and in an area where they can get plenty of air circulation.

They really don't keep all that long, even in the shell. You can further dry them, if there is any question at all, in the shell in a very low oven or in a dehydrator.

The best way is to store them in a sealed container in the freezer if you have room. When ready to roast just put them straight into the oven (keep a few out to compare) at a lower temp, 250° F., for 20 minutes and then take a few out to check how they are progressing. If they have begun to toast, have changed color just a bit, (compare to the raw ones) leave them another five minutes and check again, and so on.

They tend to get oily if stored in the freezer (uncooked in the shell) for several months.

I've bought pine nuts in the shell from roadside stands that I tried to store for a couple of months and they went moldy in brown paper bags. Since then I have hung them in the pantry in a burlap bag (originally held rice).

Edited October 24, 2010 by andiesenji (log)

[Darienne]

If you are going to store them in the shell, you must make sure they are completely dry. They should be in a porous bag and in an area where they can get plenty of air circulation.

***They are in a very open mesh bag.

They really don't keep all that long, even in the shell. You can further dry them, if there is any question at all, in the shell in a very low oven or in a dehydrator.

The best way is to store them in a sealed container in the freezer if you have room.

***They seem completely dry. I can keep them in the freezer here from now until November 15 and then back in the freezer at home on Nov 20th or so. I can put them into an air-tight container right now and into the freezer. How should they travel? In the mesh bag?

When ready to roast just put them straight into the oven (keep a few out to compare) at a lower temp, 250° F., for 20 minutes and then take a few out to check how they are progressing. If they have begun to toast, have changed color just a bit, (compare to the raw ones) leave them another five minutes and check again, and so on.

***They are a deep tan to medium brown color right now. Is that their normal color? The interior nut is creme colored.

[andiesenji]

Darienne, different varieties have slightly different colors.

Click here and scroll half-way down the page to where he writes about toasting (in a skillet) and roasting the pine nuts.

He also discusses how shelling can vary with the different varieties. The ones I get locally, (from up around Bishop) are fairly hard shelled so I buy them already shelled. More expensive but less trouble. Otherwise I order them online. Life is too short for me to spend a lot of time shelling pine nuts but that is just my opinion.

I've bought the ones at Costco or Sam's Club and they are okay but not as flavorful as others I have tried. I have purchased some that were imported from Italy that had a lot more flavor.

[Darienne]

OK. They look just like the ones in the Nevada photo. The shells are not very hard at all.

I looked for the information on roasting and toasting and temporarily gave up, defeated by the length of the article (I am not adept at reading on a monitor very well to begin with and this is a small laptop screen. I'll print it out later.)

Thanks for all the information. Learn something new everyday.

[robirdstx]

My sister harvested and gifted me with these Nevada Pine Nuts (13 ounces). I shelled and ate a few of them raw. Very tasty! The rest are being stored in the freezer until needed. Recipes welcome!

 

[kayb]

Pesto!

 

[Katie Meadow]

Those Nevada pine nuts look beautiful. When I lived in NM around this time of year we would drive up into the Sandia hills above Albuquerque, put a blanket down under a tree, and shake. In an afternoon in a good year you could collect a lot of pine nuts going tree to tree.. We just ate them raw. And I certainly don't remember ever washing them. Nor do I remember ever shelling them and using them for anything but snacking, one at a time. Lying on a blanket in the sun and then on the drive back down you could consume vast quantities.

[robirdstx]

These definitely need to be shelled before eating!

 

 

[chromedome]

22 hours ago, robirdstx said:

My sister harvested and gifted me with these Nevada Pine Nuts (13 ounces). I shelled and ate a few of them raw. Very tasty! The rest are being stored in the freezer until needed. Recipes welcome!

 

Toast some pine nuts in a pan, then tip them out. Caramelize some onions, than add a generous double handful of green seedless grapes. Stir until the grapes are heated through and acquire a beautiful, milky jade color. Add back the pine nuts, and some chiffonaded fresh basil. Serve with grilled or broiled chicken breasts.

It's one of my favorite things to do with pine nuts, other than the inevitable pesto.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, chromedome said:

Toast some pine nuts in a pan, then tip them out. Caramelize some onions, than add a generous double handful of green seedless grapes. Stir until the grapes are heated through and acquire a beautiful, milky jade color. Add back the pine nuts, and some chiffonaded fresh basil. Serve with grilled or broiled chicken breasts.

It's one of my favorite things to do with pine nuts, other than the inevitable pesto.

 

I haven't made it in years* but I used to prepare a Greek inspired dish of spinach, green seedless grapes, pine nuts, and garlic.  And I want some now.

 

 

*not sure why not.