Once you realize the hard work involved in shelling pine nuts, you may be able to more easily understand and justify the price that usually accompanies them. As the name suggests, pine nuts are the edible seeds of various pine species, located inside the pine cone and surrounded by a very hard shell, which you must remove in order to taste them. Depending on the strain you are dealing with, it can take quite a bit of work, but it will be worth it.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Prepare
Step 1. Collect the unshelled pine nuts
If you just bought some shelled pine nuts, you can skip this step and probably the whole article. However, if you are looking to harvest pine nuts with their shells still, you should know that this is a long process that can take up to several months. Here is what you need to do:
- For gray pine nuts (Pinus sabiniana) you should harvest the pine cones around September or October and keep them in a dry and ventilated place, such as a garage for example. The pinecones should still be tightly closed at this point.
- Wait for the cones to slowly open, showing the seed contained within.
- Then, bang the pine cones firmly inside a burlap sack until all the pine nuts come out. Alternatively, you can take them out by hand, if you don't mind getting dirty with the resinous pitch that surrounds them.
- Discard the part of the shell that connects it to the pine cone.
- Remove any pine nuts that have holes inside, it means that the insects have entered.
Step 2. Identify the pine nut species
It is important to know what types of pine nuts you are dealing with. Pine nuts can have hard or soft shells: hard ones are absolutely not to be broken with your teeth, unless you want to get hurt. Below are the main types of pine nuts you should know:
- Mexican pine nut (Pinus cembroides). It is a creamy pine nut that grows wild and is hand-picked. These are the finest pine nuts in the world, with a shell too hard to break with your fingers or teeth.
- Domestic pine nut (Pinus pinea). It is the most common species in Europe and the Mediterranean, the pine nut is quite long and round.
- Chilgoza pine nut (Pinus gerardiana). This variety is commonly found in the Western Himalayas, Afghanistan or Pakistan, the pine nuts are long and boat-shaped, with a sharp end. They are rarer and are usually shelled by roasting them over the fire.
- Pine nut of gray pine (Pinus sabiniana). Typical of Northern California, this pine nut has a slightly softer shell.
- Single needle pine nut (Pinus monophylla). This variety is sweeter, juicier, thicker and easier to shell.
Step 3. Be sure to refrigerate the pine nuts
Unshelled pine nuts have a very long shelf life if kept properly cool, so be sure to refrigerate them if you don't intend to peel them right away. Conversely, once shelled, pine nuts may only last a few weeks or even just a few days out of the fridge, which is why it's really important to refrigerate them as soon as possible if you don't plan on eating them right away.
Many like to put pine nuts in the freezer to give them an added crunchy taste and make them last longer, while others claim that doing so takes away some of the savory nutty taste
Part 2 of 3: Shell the Pine Nuts with Hard Shell
Step 1. Use a hammer for the hardest pine nuts
If you don't care about keeping the pine nut inside intact and are dealing with a very hard shell to break, simply place the pine nuts on a solid surface and hit them with a hammer. Try to do this rather gently, so as to break the shell but not pulverize the pine nut inside. Now, you are very likely to make a big mess or dent the floor, so try to arrange the pine nuts outdoors on top of a piece of cardboard or a sturdy plastic bag so as not to cause damage.
- This method is not suitable for the faint of heart and actually requires some strength.
- Once you are done, you can remove the pine nuts from the bag and peel the remaining shell.
Step 2. Shell the pine nuts with a can opener
That's right, if you put the pine nuts in the notched part of the can opener, where the handles join, you can use it as a kind of makeshift nutcracker. Doing so could damage the can opener and take quite some time, since you will have to shell the pine nuts one by one, however you will get the desired result.
Once you have broken all the shells of the pine nuts using the can opener, you can remove the remaining shells by hand
Step 3. Use a pin shelling machine
If you want to invest some money in a pin-shredding machine, it will make your job a lot easier. Although you spend a considerable amount of money in the beginning, you should save a lot in the long run if you plan on shelling pine nuts on a regular basis; in fact, they are much cheaper when bought with the shell than without. Here's everything you'll need to do to use a pin shelling machine:
- Place similarly sized pine nuts inside the machine so that it is adjusted to their size. Once you're done with that size pine nuts, put different sized pine nuts in them.
- Wait for the pine nuts to come out of the machine without the shell.
- Clean them of any remaining shell pieces and taste them.
Part 3 of 3: Shell the Pine Nuts with Soft Shell
Step 1. Use a rolling pin to peel the pine nuts
The softer pine nuts can simply be placed in a large plastic bag, and after all the air has escaped from the inside, place it on a flat surface and roll a wooden rolling pin over it. Continue in this way until you hear, or see, the shells of the pine nuts cracking, showing the pulp inside. It may take some time and using the rolling pin on smaller amounts of pine nuts should get better results.
Once you have cracked all the shells, simply remove the nuts from the plastic bag and finger off any remaining shells
Step 2. Use your teeth
While teeth are certainly not the most recommendable method of shelling pine nuts, they should work when needed if you're dealing with soft-shelled pine nuts such as gray pine. Just imagine that you need to shell the sunflower seeds: put the pine nut in the back of your mouth and bite into it quite gently, until you feel the shell crack. Then, take the pine nut out of your mouth and remove the rest of the shell.
- Be careful not to bite too hard if you want to keep your teeth intact.
- This is one of the best ways to preserve the original shape of the pine nut without destroying it, if that matters to you.
Step 3. Use your thumb and index finger
If you have a soft-shelled pine nut in your hands, you should be able to peel it with your hands alone. Simply place the pine nut between your thumb and forefinger and press until you feel, or see, the shell cracking. Then remove the remaining shell parts by hand. It may represent a repetitive motion and may take some time, however it will be better to use your fingers instead of your teeth.
It will take a bit 'of time; also because you will be shelling the pine nuts individually, one by one
Step 4. Enjoy them
Once you've managed to shell your pine nuts, you can enjoy them raw or use them for a variety of recipes. They are tasty, quite rare in cooking, but above all they add a buttery and pleasant texture to any type of meal. Here are some ways you can use them:
- Enjoy them raw, as a healthy snack.
- Use them to make pesto to use in pasta or as an accompaniment to meat and fish dishes.
- Toast them lightly in the oven and enjoy their crunchy taste.
- Add them to any salad, from those with goat cheese and beets to those with brie and orange slices.
Advice
- Some pine nuts just don't open properly, in which case move on to others.
- It takes practice to become good, be patient.
- You can also buy pine nuts already shelled, but they have a much shorter shelf life than those with the shell.
- The taste of an unshelled pine nut is much richer than that of one that has been previously peeled.
- It is very cost effective to shell pine nuts yourself, and there are really many ways to do it.
