The Colorado pinyon pine, the tree that covers millions of acres of the Colorado Plateau, bears hard-shelled, wingless seeds in stubby cones. And people in the Southwest have harvested and eaten those delicious nuts for thousands of years.
But the pines produce nuts only every five to seven years. When there was a good crop in the fall, whole families trekked to the woodlands to gather the protein- and calorie-rich nuts, which nourished them through the winter.
They spread out blankets or tarps beneath the trees, knocked down the cones with sticks, then took the cones or the nuts back home to be roasted and stored, or shelled and eaten raw.
Traders to the Navajos found a healthy demand for pine nuts in eastern cities, and Navajos willing to do the harvesting. In 1909, pinyon nuts retailed for 40 to 60 cents a pound, and pickers got 5 to 15 cents of that.
Trader J.W. Kennedy recalled 1936 as an amazing pinyon year: eight million pounds of nuts were stacked in warehouses in Flagstaff, Gallup, and Albuquerque. Four years later, the last of that bumper crop was shipped by rail from Flagstaff to New York City.
Pinyon nuts sell at about fifteen dollars a pound today, and are widely considered a gourmet food. You can gather a small amount for personal use on public lands without a permit. Try adding a handful to your Thanksgiving dressing, and savor a true taste of the Southwest.
Earth Notes is produced by KNAU and the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University.
