PIÑON : "The Manna of the Mountains"
(Page 2 of 5)
July/August 1977
by FLORENCE BLANCHARD
PIÑON IDENTIFICATION
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The four varieties of piñon you're after (see map accompanying this article) vary somewhat in appearance, but they're all relatively short trees—20 to 30 feet in height—with gnarled, weathered branches. Their cones which are small, egg-shaped, and clustered in a flat crown at the top of each tree-take two full seasons to ripen . . . which means that any single piñon bears nuts only every other year.
The nuts themselves are bean-shaped, one-half to three-quarters of an inch long, and covered by a thin, smooth shell. The ivory-colored meat inside contains 13% protein, 60% fat, and 20% carbohydrates . . . a near-ideal balance for the Native Americans who lived without central heat and needed to consume a lot of calories to maintain body warmth. Most folks who've tried piñons describe the nuts as tasting like "chewy, piney peanuts" . . . and most of the experimenters come back for more!
'TIS THE SEASON TO GO NUTTING
Experience has taught us that it's a good idea to get out and look over our favorite groves of piñon trees no later than early August . . . just to keep an eye on how the cones are coming along. At first, of course, they're still tightly sealed, sappy little globes of nothing. But, as the weeks pass into winter, the cones mature, slowly open, and—finally—dispense their hoard of nuts over the ground (much to the delight of birds, field mice, deer, squirrels, and even other humans). If you want your fair share, you should try to harvest the nuts about halfway between the time they're tightly clenched and fully opened . . . say late August or sometime in September.
THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE
We make piñon harvests a family affair and our equipment consists of: [1] a picnic lunch, [2] our oldest —and I do mean oldest—clothes, including head scarves, [3] three or four old sheets, a large tarp, or a piece of polyurethane measuring approximately 6 feet by 30 feet, [4] burlap sacks, plastic garbage bags, or cardboard boxes, [5] plenty of cleanup rags, and [6] waterless hand soap or cooking oil.
Why the old clothes, rags, soap, and oil? Because of the delightful smelling but resinous, sticky sap which runs so freely from piñon trees. We arrived home from our first pine nutting expedition looking as though we'd been tarred and then feathered with evergreen needles! It took days to remove the goo from our hair and bodies.
But we're smarter now. Although we still don't like to wear gloves when out nutting as some people recommend, we do "cover up" with full-length jeans, long-sleeved shirts, and hats or hair scarves. And we coat our hands, exposed portions of our arms, and sometimes even parts of our faces with waterless hand cleaner (available from the local hardware store) or ordinary cooking oil before we confront the trees. The sap then scrubs off easily with a rag and some water once we've finished picking.
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