wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (09/04/85)
Recent comments on PBS cooking shows, the net, and in cooking magazines, lead me to have the impression that pine nuts are quite expensive these days. I haven't bought any for well over a decade now, but, as I recall, when I bought them then, from the Lebanese-Syrian Bakery which was then in my neighborhood, they were not cheap, but were about equivalent to buying other ordinary nut meats at the time. Have they shot up in price over the past "n" years? Anybody have any data as to why this happened? (For example, was their main source in Lebanon, and the chaos and fighting there dried up the supply or prevented shipping? Since they are used extensively in Lebanese cuisine, I would not be surprised if this was the reason.) Are there other sources under development? (I would assume that there would be a long lead time for a pine nut plantation to come up to productive capacity, since trees do take a while to mature.) Where? Regards, Will UUCP/USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin or ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA
nemo@rochester.UUCP (Wolfe) (09/05/85)
> Recent comments on PBS cooking shows, the net, and in cooking magazines, > lead me to have the impression that pine nuts are quite expensive these > days. > Have they shot up in price over the past "n" years? Anybody have any > data as to why this happened? (For example, was their main source in > Lebanon, and the chaos and fighting there dried up the supply or > prevented shipping? ) > Are there other sources under development? (I would assume that there > would be a long lead time for a pine nut plantation to come up to > productive capacity, since trees do take a while to mature.) Where? > Regards, Will I recall seeing a PBS show about Indian life in Utah & thereabouts, with much info on all the kinds of baskets they weave (some carry water!), etc. They also showed them harvesting and preparing pine nuts, a very time- consuming, labor-intensive process. I assumed at the time that the reason for their expense was that, like wild rice, the plant to market path required a good deal of effort. Still, you don't need pounds of them... Nemo -- Internet: nemo@rochester.arpa UUCP: {decvax, allegra, seismo, cmcl2}!rochester!nemo Phone: [USA] (716) 275-5766 work, 232-4690 home USMail: 104 Tremont Circle; Rochester, NY 14608 School: Department of Computer Science; University of Rochester; Rochester, NY 14627
joe@emacs.uucp (Joe Chapman) (09/06/85)
I've found (in Boston, at least) that the place to buy pine nuts is in a natural foods store. My local one sells them in bulk for a fraction of the supermarket price (an even tinier fraction of the price at the local upscale/yuppie emporium). Plus, when they're in bulk, you can examine 'em more closely for creeping rancidity. -- -- Joseph Chapman decvax!cca!emacs!joe CCA Uniworks, Inc. emacs!joe@cca-unix.ARPA 20 William St. Wellesley, MA 02181 (617) 235-2600
mulbery@mot.UUCP (Bill Mulberry) (10/02/85)
The trees that produce the pinon nuts (with an ~) are not
desert dwellers. They live in higher elevations. I believe at
5000 ft and above. I have lived in the southwest for a long time
and have seen them more in abundance in areas like Northern
California, Oregon, and Northwestern Nevada than in Arizona, Utah,
and New Mexico. It was (and may still be) one of the main foods
for the Indians that live in this area (Shoshone, Washo, and some
Ute groups). It was only a secondary food source to the southwestern
Indians.
I have also found them to be alot cheaper in Oregon than in
the southwestern states.
I have also seen them in high mountain areas in both northern
and southern Mexico but not in its deserts.
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Bill Mulberry @ Motorola Microsystems, Tempe, AZ U.S.A.
UUCP: {seismo!terak, trwrb!flkvax, utzoo!mnetor, ihnp4!btlunix}!mot!mulbery
ARPA: oakhill!mot!mulbery@ut-sally.ARPA AT&T: 602-438-3039
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