Hello. Today we will tell you about the nut, which
is well known to all Russians. It's about pine nuts.
In fact, pine nuts, oddly enough, are neither pine nuts, nor nuts, but nevertheless this
name is firmly entrenched for them. From the point of view of botany, these are the seeds
of the cones of the Siberian cedar pine, which is also called the Siberian cedar (Pinus sibirica).
Just pine nut, it's a well-established term, since scientifically, gymnosperms can't bear
fruit at all. Peter the Great decided to call this tree
so for its similarity to the Lebanese cedar, the wood of which was used in shipbuilding.
It was very expensive to buy lumber made from real cedar, so the king decided to look for
similar trees in Siberia and found them in the form of Siberian cedar (cedar pine). Since
this tree began to be called cedar, the name "cedar" has been stuck behind the seeds from
its cones. Unlike cedar pine, real Lebanese cedar has no edible seeds.
Siberian cedar or cedar pine is an evergreen tree with a powerful physique and noble roots.
Its distribution area is Siberia, the Urals, Mongolia, China. Cedar is shade-tolerant,
the soil loves moist, light, sandy loam or loamy, with good drainage.
Cedar pine belongs to the Pine family. She has a dense evergreen crown, there are specimens
with several tops. There are many knots on the gray-brown trunk; in aging trees, the
bark cracks, resembling scales. The Siberian pine needles are soft, dark green in color
with a gray bloom. The length of the needles (there will be 5 of them in a bundle) is about
15 cm. This tree species grows slowly. A number of trees grow on the territory of
Russia, the cones of which contain edible seeds. These are Siberian cedar pine, Korean
pine and elfin cedar. However, the most useful are the seeds of
the Siberian cedar. The exact lifespan of the Siberian cedar pine has not been established.
Biologists give different numbers from 350 to 1500 years.
Why are pine nuts so expensive? So for 1 kg of peeled pine kernels, sellers ask from 1550
rubles. up to 2200 rubles. For 500 g - 1000 - 1200 rubles. 1 kg of inshell nuts costs
500 - 600 rubles. and more, 100 g of nuts can be bought for 200 - 270 rubles.
And the fact is that collecting pine nuts is a labor-intensive business, so it is necessary
that several people take part in the collection at the same time. People who are professionally
engaged in fishing go to the forest in groups for several weeks. They set up a camp, equip
a place for storing and processing cones. In order to find a place where there are many
cedar pines with mature cones, gatherers follow the trail of a deer or a wild boar.
Since ancient times, cedar cones have been harvested with a hammer from a log - chipping.
They knock on the trunk, vibration is created - and the cones fall to the ground. However,
this method is harmful to the tree, as it is very brittle. Without calculating the force
of the blow, you can break a century-old pine tree.
Each cedar cone contains 120 seeds, and hundreds of cones ripen on one tree. However, the collection
of cones has natural limitations, namely the Siberian cedar begins to bear fruit only after
reaching the age of 20. Cones on a tree appear once every five to ten years. Each cone ripens
from one and a half to three years, and the cones are collected exclusively by hand. Collecting
cedar cones is prohibited by law for most of the year. It is also forbidden to shoot
down immature buds and collect fruits in protected areas.
Nature arranged it in such a way that the seeds of the cedar, unlike the seeds of pine,
larch or spruce, cannot be settled with the help of the wind. Therefore, the cedar needs
an assistant. And he has it. This is a small bird nutcracker. Or as it is also called,
walnut. Mutually beneficial interspecific consortium
ties have historically developed between Siberian cedar and nutcracker. Seeds serve as the main
food for the nutcracker and, as a result, in the process of evolution, this was reflected
in the structure of some of its organs and the way of life, and the instinct of storing
food for the winter with the nutcracker turned out to be useful for the natural renewal of
the Siberian cedar and the formation of cedar forests.
By creating stocks of seeds, it carries pine nuts over long distances. Nutcracker hides
them in small (up to 30 nuts) portions in numerous places, more or less evenly located
on uncovered and forested areas in the upper soil horizons and in the moss cover. One bird
annually makes up to thirty thousand of its personal pantries, each of which stores up
to 20 nuts. But this does not mean that all the hidden nuts will remain safe and sound.
Some of the pantries will simply be forgotten by the birds and in spring young shoots will
appear in their place. The American continent has its own pine nut.
The pinyon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially New Mexico, Arizona,
and Utah. The seeds of the Pinion pine, known as "pine nuts", are an important food for
the American Indians living in the mountains of the North American Southwest. All pine
species produce edible seeds, but in North America, only the pinion produces enough seeds
to be a major food source. They are widely used as a snack and as an ingredient in New
Mexican cuisine. This plant has found wide cultivation here.
In the United States, the area occupied by Pinion pines is constantly expanding, as there
these plants are grown in special forest nurseries. This is due to the fact that most of the areas
of cedar forests being cut down are not restored naturally or are renewed in a time that is
unacceptable for the economy. Therefore, cedar pine must be restored artificially.
Forest nurseries for growing pignon pine seedlings are established on well-drained light loamy
soils of floodplain terraces. Before sowing, in the seed garden, unopened
pine cones are collected. During the planting process, cedar seeds are
placed in specially prepared soil. 200-250 nuts are sown per 1 running meter of the sowing
line, which is about 40-60 g. Then the soil is mulched.
After 30 days, the seedlings that have emerged from the seeds are dug out for their further
planting in areas of felling or other prepared areas for growing nuts.
Here's a look at this modern machine that is capable of planting walnut forests quickly
and efficiently. Naturally growing pines will bear fruit only
after decades. To speed up the ripening process of nuts,
cedars are planted in a forest nursery. Here, issues related to plant pollination
are resolved. The pine has two main reproductive organs, the female and the male. This is what
a female organ looks like. Pollen is collected from male flowers, which
is sent directly to the female inflorescence. In September-October, the collection of pignon
pine cones begins. Each pinion cone produces 10 to 30 seeds, and a productive pine stand
in a good year can produce 250 pounds or 110 kg per acre or 400 acres of land. On average,
a worker can harvest about 10 kg of unpeeled pignon seeds per day.
The collection of fallen pine cones is done mainly by hand using tree shakers.
When a tree reaches a certain age, pine cones will appear on it every year.
The collected cones are loaded into a cleaning machine to separate the pine nut seeds.
Such a machine includes a vibrating sieve system and a crushing hopper, in which the
shell is broken. Debris and too small nuts fall into the appropriately sized slots in
the sieve. Further, the nuts are directed into the distribution grooves, which are equipped
with the crushing shafts. The rotation of the shafts in different directions makes it
easy to break the shells.
The cracked nuts are fed back to vibrating sieves that filter out debris, broken shells
and other impurities. After such a procedure, about 2% of impurities remain in the nuts,
which are later selected by hand. After entering the warehouse, the washed,
dried and weathered kernels are packed in vacuum packages that protect them from damage
and oxidation, which helps to increase the shelf life. Some of the nucleoli are fried
and processed in various seasonings or ordinary fine salt. Finished prepackaged products from
warehouses are sent to shops, supermarkets and markets. The rest is processed to produce
cedar nut oil. Since pine nuts contain several volatile oils
that begin to evaporate after peeling, it is necessary to press the oil immediately
after peeling the nuts.
Now let's figure out how to choose the right pine nuts. Fat of pine nuts is essentially
pine nut oil, and the oil tends to oxidize quickly, therefore, if stored incorrectly,
the nuts deteriorate. How quickly the nuts deteriorate depends on the temperature and
lighting. Pine nuts are harvested in autumn in September - October, so the best time to
buy is the end of October. If on the packaging in the column "Date of manufacture" are indicated
not the autumn months, then you should not take the nuts, they are stale. You should
not purchase peeled nuts in the markets. There is a greater chance that dust and dirt will
settle on the core. When buying pine nuts in branded packaging,
pay attention to the expiration date, and if you buy by weight, the color and smell
of the product is important. Rotten nuts smell like mold and taste bitter, while fresh ones
have a pleasant smell, sweet and spicy resin taste.
How to store pine nuts? Pine nuts should be stored in an airtight container in complete
darkness. Peeled nuts can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three months, in the
freezer for up to 6 months. In-shell nuts are stored 2 times longer. Roasted nuts should
be eaten within three days or they will go bad. If the nuts are spoiled, do not eat them,
it is dangerous. Nuts are best eaten raw. If nuts are fried,
they release oil, which gives them a piquant taste. However, during the frying process,
the product loses some of its beneficial properties, and carcinogenic substances are formed in
the nut oil. As an ingredient, pine nuts are often crushed as a sprinkle to add a savory
flavor to dishes. The popular all over the world Italian pesto sauce traditionally includes
grated pine nuts. Pine nut is the only available source of pinolenic
fatty acid for the human body. The term pinolenic acid comes from the Latin word pinus, which
means pine. Pinolenic acid reduces appetite and prevents obesity by stimulating the secretion
in the small intestine of two key satiety-inducing enzymes, cholecystokinin and glucagon-like
peptide alone. The first causes a feeling of satiety and reduces appetite, and the second
weakens the motor activity of the stomach, slowing down the flow of food into the duodenum.
Thanks to the activation of these two enzymes, a person experiences a feeling of fullness
for much longer. That is why, to prevent overeating, it is recommended to eat a handful of pine
nuts 30 minutes before meals. But the benefits of pinolenic acid are not limited to this.
It has a number of useful properties, namely, it increases the intestinal resistance to
infection by bacteria and viruses, lowers blood cholesterol levels, lowers the level
of low-density lipoproteins, thereby preventing vascular atherosclerosis, has anti-inflammatory
and antitumor properties, normalizes systolic pressure, strengthens immunity, enhances insulin
sensitivity of cells. How many pine nuts can you eat? Pine nuts
are very high in calories, so it is recommended to consume them in an amount of no more than
30 grams per day, which is about two tablespoons. Pine nuts are
very fatty. It is only 13 percent carbohydrates, 14 percent protein and 70 percent fat, but
unlike animal fats, pine nut fatty acids are good for the heart and blood vessels. For
those who monitor calories, it is important to know that a daily intake of
30 grams gives us 200 kilocalories. What does 30 grams of nuts per day affect?
This is what happens when you eat nuts every day. The daily requirement of an adult for
manganese is fully covered. Half of the demand for copper and silicon is covered. The combination
of monounsaturated fatty acids magnesium and vitamin E in pine nuts provides a fivefold
reduction in the risk of death from heart disease. The body receives vitamin E vitamins
of group B, vitamin Ka useful for blood, as well as niacin. Enrichment with unsaturated
fatty acids, namely oleic and linoleic and pinolenic. Thanks to its fatty acid composition,
blood pressure is stabilized. Plant sterols in combination
with pinolenic acid lower cholesterol and harmful blood lipids, thereby preventing the
formation of cholesterol plaques in the vessels. Thanks to the tryptophan in the
nut, sleep improves and insomnia disappears. The rich antioxidant composition protects
cells from damage and mutations. Coarse fiber in the composition of the nut normalizes the
work of the gastrointestinal tract, cleanses the intestines and removes toxins from the
body. Thanks to the rich vitamin composition, the cognitive functions of the brain are preserved,
memory improves, mood normalizes, so pine nuts are especially useful for
the elderly.