It’s piñon season here in New Mexico, and just like chile season, the fever is real! People not familiar with New Mexicans’ love, nay worship, of piñon will quickly find out when they see cars pulled over and people squatting under the piñon trees on a random stretch of rural road, or when their blog author unabashedly admits they just stepped away to pick piñon mid-sentence.
The piñon pine is New Mexico’s state tree, after all, and indigenous cultures have relied on this nutrient-dense food for eons. “Nutritionally, pinyon pinenuts are superstars, containing over 60% fat (the highest of any nut) and over 30% protein. They are a rich source of linolenic fatty acids, which helps to balance hormone levels. They are also rich sources of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), thiamin, niacine, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, and manganese.” (Nomad Seed Project, 2018) While I am still relatively new to the piñon scene, I do not take for granted that our 15 acres of forest at Sahalee are covered in prized piñon pine trees and that 2024 is a banner year for these sacred nuts… Read on to learn more about these tender little delicacies!
For being a simple little nut, the presence of piñon in local culture and global markets is actually quite complex. According to Tree New Mexico, Pinus edulis grows at 4,000 to 9,000 feet elevation in the Southwest Rocky Mountain region of the US, and US Forest Service studies conclude that good crops can take up to seven years to produce. With climate change creating even more uncertainty in natural cycles, the US piñon harvest can be somewhat unpredictable which makes bumper crops like this year’s an even more celebratory occasion.
Many local families will plan to pick piñon out in the wild as a multi-day camping trip with everyone from infants to great-grandparents participating. There is significant tribal knowledge about local food sources and self-sufficiency that is handed down from generation to generation. Living so close to the Navajo Nation, I very much respect my neighbors’ beliefs about how to honor the sacred trees and conduct a respectful harvest of the gems that the earth generously provides.
However, today’s foodies will appreciate the more mainstream presence of hunting for piñon in the coffee aisle at the grocery store and at their favorite pizza shop. Outside of this region, many people who have an affinity for Italian cuisine might recognize that pinoli are a key ingredient in traditional pesto recipes as well as special dishes such as the to-die-for Cavolfiore Mafioso!
Even if piñon is enjoyed around here on everyday menus, the supply and demand (price per pound) can be compared to other more ‘exotic’ delicacies such as crab meat and truffles because of the labor-intensive processing (and these items can’t be cultivated in factory farms). Cowboys & Indians claimed that New Mexico is “the world’s piñon capital,” but the global markets report that China is the largest exporter of pine nuts.
With all this hoopla around piñon, it’s no wonder that I. Just. Can’t. Stop. In fact, I just brought in another handful before I started this paragraph. Once you see the little buggers, you can’t unsee them. In the sunlight, they glisten on the ground with a lush foresty brown-green iridescence, resembling shiny copper pennies. After you pick one, crack the shell in your teeth, pop the tender ivory kernel into your mouth, and savor the sweet buttery treat of the piñon meat, you immediately want more. When you can see the abundance at your feet with every step, it would just be a crime to walk by and pretend they aren’t there!
I’ve been learning a lot about picking piñon this year and mostly by trial-and-error. Local people don’t usually share a lot about their picking spots, or reveal all the details of their haul, in the same way anglers protect the location of their favorite fishing holes and surefire bait or fly selections. The general advice that I gathered along the way by word-of-mouth is that the season starts when the chamisa, or rabbitbrush, blooms yellow in the fall, and that you want to look for the darker nuts because they are the freshest. You can also try to spot the best trees by looking for open cones. There might be some green cones open on the ground with nuts inside, but they are very sticky with sap.
Back in 2020, I picked a full carafe of piñon thinking I was pretty smart. When I started to crack them, I found them all to be empty. I didn’t know enough about what to look for and how to judge a healthy crop. There are plenty of science-based articles out there to learn that a variety of factors contribute to nurturing or preventing the growth of edible piñon. When you are out in the field, even in a good year, you can still be fooled when you start picking and cracking. Below I will share more about what I see here at Sahalee and how things worked out for our favorite recipes this year.
First, it takes a LOT of raw piñon in their shells to make a decent amount for use in recipes. Out of a full coffee can that we picked, we had cracked the 1 1/2 cups required for our favorite cookie recipe with a few leftovers. When we started to crack them raw for the recipe (most people prefer to roast and eat them like sunflower seeds), I got better at identifying which nuts would have the best meat inside based on their outward appearance. When you are out in the thick of things, sometimes you pick some duds.
After washing these in a tub of cool water with a sprinkle of baking soda, I rinsed and dried them before they arrived at the cracking station. I used a wooden rolling pin to hit each nut individually and then we carefully peeled the shell. (After roasting, it’s easier to crack the shell and work a handful at a time with a mano and metate.) It took HOURS (over several days) to work through the entire batch. I did separate out a couple of samples taken from different areas to see if one location had better yield over another, but in the end we just dumped them all together and took our chances.
By far, the darker and richer the color of the shell, the better the meat inside. With practice, you can see how some of the empty shells look more weathered and actually feel lighter and hollow. After I ran through this batch and went back to the forest for more, I thought I could actually find the good nuts by feel. In one scoop, I had picked 9 out of 10 good ones!
If you are curious about the cookies, wait no longer! These flourless Italian pignolis have become a family favorite over the years and a very special treat since they are so expensive (raw almonds aren’t cheap either). I use this recipe channeled from Lidia Bastianich and make my own almond paste. I only make them once a year or so and I’m still perfecting process and portions, but they taste delicious no matter how they look!
Another piñon recipe that I just had to try to make myself is the Chocolate Piñon Mocha Mousse from the acclaimed Rancho de Chimayo. I’ve made my mom’s chocolate mousse recipe before, but this one is special with espresso coffee and Kahlua for a kick. For a little twist, I added a dollop of Crema Salvadoreña to the whipped cream and egg whites in this batch. Again, don’t let the looks deceive you… This piñon mousse was sinful!!
So, we just brought in another coffee can full of piñon and I’m thinking about trying to crack another restaurant favorite… The Carnitas and Camarones Mexicanas appetizers at El Bruno’s are made with a special spicy piñon sauce that I have yet to recreate at home.
With all the excitement about this year’s piñon crop, we’re trying to enjoy the gifts that Sahalee gives us with gratitude knowing full well that it might be another 7 years before we see this manna from heaven. There’s so much to learn and appreciate about piñon from the nature, to the science, to the culture, to the value, to every savored bite. We’ll definitely be paying more attention to the growth cycles of the trees over the next few years and try to follow the signs leading to a healthy crop.
