Pinyon pine nuts are from the Pinyon pine - that's the species name.
Pinyon pine nuts have been eaten for thousands of years in the US
southwest. The cones are enormous, and the squirrels converge on the
few planted in this part of the country before I get to inspect the pine
nuts! Nothing but shredded pine cones devoured like ears of corn fall
to the ground.
Pigniola MAY be (I'm only guessing) the pine nut from a native Italian
pine. I know that the Austrian pine is the main pine of the Alps, could
that be it? The Austrian pines grown commonly in the US as ornamentals
don't have cones anywhere the size of the Pinyon pinecone, however.
Interesting, Hadass, I had assumed that the pine nut had traveled from
North America to Italy along with the tomato! I'll check a few more
sources.
Anne
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