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How to Collect Pinon Nuts

The pinon nut is a variety of pine nut with a rich flavor highly prized for eating and cooking, and is one of the largest forms of pine nuts. The pinon nut grows in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. These pine trees have a small growing region, and grow high in mountains. This kind of tree is not farmed, and the seeds are collected from the wild. The trees only produce nuts every two to seven years, so finding the nuts can be difficult. The U.S. Department of Agriculture allows for the gathering of less than 75 pounds of nuts for personal use without requiring a permit. Only collect nuts from public property to prevent trespassing and theft.

Things You'll Need

Large blanket
Cloth bags or plastic containers
1/2-inch wire mesh

Instructions

- 1
  Look for nuts from the end of September to the beginning of November. This is when the most pinon nuts are available.
- 2
  Harvest green cones by picking them up off of the ground if they have fallen early. Do not try to climb the trees to harvest green cones as this is a safety hazard and may damage the tree.
- 3
  Spread a large blanket under the branches of a tree. Gently shake the trunk to cause the already open cones to fall onto the blanket. Place the cones in a cloth bag or container after they fall on the blanket.
- 4
  Search the ground around the trees under the needles for loose pine nuts. The nuts will have a hard brown shell around the light-colored nut inside. Place the seeds inside a cloth bag to store until you are ready to eat them. Do not remove the hard coating around the seeds until you are ready to eat the nuts.
- 5
  Spread closed cones on a blanket in the sun for several days. The cones will open and release the seeds inside.
- 6
  Place all of the collected seeds on a large sheet of wire mesh. Push the seeds back and forth across the mesh to preserve the seeds and eliminate any waste that does not contain seeds.

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