When you buy pine nuts, you get real "nature boys" in your home, because unlike other nuts and kernels, they grow in the wild. They ripen in cones within three years and are then harvested by hand. The imposing pine trees, which are around twenty to thirty meters tall, are predominantly found in the Mediterranean region and can be found in the mild coastal regions of Portugal, Spain, Italy and southern France.
To get to their fruit, harvesters climb up the trees to gently loosen them from the branches or gently shake them off the tree using special equipment. The pine nuts are then removed from the cone by hand and the hard shell and seed coat are removed. At the end of this laborious process, the light-colored, elongated pine nut is revealed.
Kissed by the Mediterranean sun
Around two and a half kilos of pine nuts can be harvested from a pine tree each season. Here they ripen until they have developed their full aroma in the sun. Once they have been harvested and freed from their shells, they are cleaned and then gently dried. This is how they finally make their way to us, so that you can buy pine nuts at any time without any detours, which impress above all with their quality and taste.
Did you know that despite their nutty flavor, pine nuts are not real nuts? Like pumpkin and sunflower seeds, they are the seeds of a tree.
The good ingredients of pine nuts
Buying pine nuts is not only a real hit in terms of taste. The small kernels also have a lot to offer in terms of nutrients. The high-quality, unsaturated fatty acids are joined by vegetable proteins and vitamins such as vitamin E and a number of minerals such as phosphorus, calcium and iron.
