How to Roast Pinon Nuts

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By Erik Johnson
eHow Contributing Writer

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Roasted pinon nuts have a golden color.

Pinon nuts are harvested by hand from pinyon pine trees growing wild in the southwestern United States. Pinon nuts may be added to baked goods, salads and stir frys, though traditionally they are enjoyed roasted and salted as a snack. Roasted pinon nuts have a sweet, buttery flavor. Pinon nuts can be roasted in the shell at home, but take care to keep them from burning.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Cookie sheet
Oven
Salt

Step 1

Rinse the pinon nuts in a strainer or colander under running water. Remove any foreign objects and empty shells.
Step 2

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place a single layer of pinon nuts on a cookie sheet or shallow pan.
Step 3

Place the pan of nuts on the top rack of your oven. Because pinon nuts are a wild-picked food, their moisture content (and therefore roasting times) can vary.
Step 4

Check the nuts for doneness after ten minutes. The nutmeat will change from off-white to nearly translucent, then back to white and finally a golden color.
Step 5

Remove the nuts from the oven as soon as they turn golden since pinon nuts burn easily. Transfer the nuts to a cool pan or a newspaper to let them cool. Perfectly roasted nuts will develop a dark mustard color.
Step 6

Place the cool nuts between two terrycloth kitchen towels and firmly roll a rolling pin over the towels to crack the shells. The shells will stick to the terrycloth.
Step 7

Discard the shells and season the nut meat with salt to taste.

Tips & Warnings

Shelled pinon nuts can be stored in an airtight container in a cool location for up to four weeks or frozen for six months. The natural oils in the nuts will turn rancid if kept in a warm climate. Since different roasting times impart different flavors to the nuts, roast small batches of pinon nuts and find your favorite flavor. Overroasted pinon nuts and their shells can be ground with coffee beans. Nuts harvested in New Mexico from the Mexican Pine (Pinus cembroides) are the largest pinon nuts available. Pinon nuts grown elsewhere may be roasted, though they have a distinct pine flavor that nuts from the Mexican Pine do not.
The European Journal of Emergency Medicine has reported batches of oxidized pine nuts imparting a metallic taste to foods eaten up to a week after patients have consumed the nuts. This taste disturbance is not harmful, but roast only fresh pinon nuts to avoid it.