| Trivia
about Indian Nuts
The Indian Nut was a member
of the pine family and is
basically an in-the-shell pine nut. It is oblong in shape It comes from Afghanistan and is
a close relative of the Pakistani pine nut which is long and thin. Some of the importers
in the United States used to bring them in (import them from) from India. I don't think
they are now available from anybody I trade with.
The crop is transported to India where you find it being sold in many marketplaces. Most
of the extra in-shell Indian nuts are exported through the port of Bombay, but the
interest in the United States in the last three years have been extremely light, so very
little is imported. There is a better market in the Middle East because people like both
this nut and the in-shell pumpkin seed to munch on.
Indian nuts were popular in the eastern United States during the 1980's. The nut's
popularity has diminished because there is little interest in that nut. It was hard to
open. I tried a sample shipment and wondered who would use all that effort to get just one
nut opened.... I found it was an effort.
There are over 1,000 nuts varieties and over 4,000 bean varieties grown on this planet .
Of the 1,000 nut varieties, fewer than 30 nut kernels are commercially available.
Some uncommercial nuts are poisonous.
Some are only interesting to local tastes such as the Betel Nut which is chewed as a cud
in Africa. The cashew nut has only been imported in quantity to
the United states since the early 1950's.
Other nuts are less desirable than their hybrid version, such as the Tiger Almond found in
Angola, South Africa. It is not nearly as good as the current California almond which is a
hybrid of the almonds grown near the Mediterranean Sea in Greece, Turkey, Italy, and
Spain.. That is why the African Tiger Almond is not imported.
Beechnuts, acorns, butternuts, hickory nuts, and heart nuts all grow in the United States
and none of them are commercially grown and gathered. The reason is that the effort and
cost for developing the crop is far greater than the financial reward.Sometimes people confuse the pinion nut with the
Indian nut.
see also the story on the Siberian
pine nut
The pine nut in the shell is the pinion
nut and it is mainly gathered in October in southern Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and
Colorado from the stone pine (pinion means pine) tree. The gathering had
traditionally been a native American Indian activity (Navaho, or Zuni, for example) but
others now do it.
The shell is extremely
hard to crack and
we do not carry it as a product. You can find a source to order the pinion nut
ion the pinenut.com website.
You can find a source to order at http://www.pinonnut.com/index.htm
Check out these Facts
about Pine Nuts.
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Tip of the day
For a heavy dose of silliness, check out uselessknowledge.com |
Our
favorite recipes
Banana Nut Bread
a standard favorite
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups ripe, mashed bananas (3 large)
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 Eggs, beaten
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 cup light vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
optional:
1/2 cup dates or apricots, chopped
Mix all dry ingredients together. Mash the ripe bananas. Cream the honey
and butter/oil and blend in the bananas. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour dust a 4" x 8" loaf pan....
Little by little fold the dry the dry mixture, honey mix, and beaten eggs
together in a bowl. When fairly uniform pour into the pan and level the batter.
Bake 70 minutes until the crust is golden brown and a toothpick comes out
dry. Storing the wrapped bread in the cupboard for a few days develops a richer flavor.
More recipes
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Little known facts
Caramel and Butterscotch are made in
similar ways to toffee, as is fudge. The difference is in the degree of boiling
temperature and the ways in which they are cooled. This whole process uses high-heat to
convert sugar. Crystallization, graininess, and whether it is brittle or smooth are simply
variations of this process.
more
about candy
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Half a century of fun
The Nut Factory started in 1952 as a roaster of peanuts. We are located in Spokane,
Washington. Over the years The Nut Factory has grown into a large snack food manufacturer.
We ship over 400 product every day to businesses everywhere throughout the United States.
Our history
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