Pine nuts are known to have been cultivated for at least 6000 years. They are the seeds of pine trees (surprising isn't it), most commonly from the Stone Pine (Pinus pinea) of Europe. The Stone Pine belongs to the gymnosperms, the group of plants that literally means 'naked seed', ie: they don't have true fruit. Other plants in this group include the cycads, conifers and even ginkgo.
The cost of pine nuts is from the difficulty in harvesting the seeds from the pine cones. Each cone holds about 50 nuts, and 5kg of cones will normally be required to harvest 1kg of nuts. When first harvested the seeds are covered with a dark hard seed coat that has to be removed before they are eaten. Our pine nuts already have the seed coat removed.
Pine nuts contain 31% protein by weight. That is the highest protein content of any of the nuts. Pine nuts are also a good source of dietary fibre.
Over their long history they have been put to a variety of uses. The Italians have used them in pesto and sweet biscuits. The French put them in salads, and the Americans turn them into coffee.
Our current batch of pine nuts are not organic, however, the next batch of pine nuts will be. See the table below for current pricing, or consult your most recent product list.
| Pine nuts | Store location | Retail price per kg | Member's 10% discount price per kg | Member's 25% discount price per kg | Member's 40% discount price per kg |
| Non-organic | Nuts (next to the spices) | 41.80 | 37.62 | 31.35 | 25.08 |
| Organic | Nuts (next to the spices) | 57.30 | 51.57 | 42.98 | 34.38 |