The short (10-30 ft. tall) but beautiful piñon (pronounced "peen-NEYONE") pine tree has been called "the soul of New Mexico," "the Manna of the Mountains," "dear to the souls of all New Mexicans,"
and "a thread in the social fabric of all who have shared the high desert."
The piñon tree has served humans for millenia. Its wood burns hotter than most evergreens, making it ideal firewood, and it produces a wonderful scent as it burns. The ultra-sticky sap has long been used as a caulking material for waterproofing baskets and skins. And, of course, piñon nuts were a major source of winter food for many of the Indian tribes of the West. The nuts contain 13% protein, 60% fat, and 20% carbohydrates--a near-ideal balance for the Native Americans who lived without central heat and needed to consume a lot of calories to maintain body warmth. Most folks who've tried piñon nuts describe them as tasting like "chewy, piney peanuts."
In the 1530's, the Spanish adventurer, healer, and lost wanderer, Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca ("Head of Cow"), named the piñon ("small pine") and wrote the first words recorded about our cherished State Tree: "...there are in that country small trees of the sweet pine, the cones of which are like small eggs, but the seeds are better than those of Castille [a region of central Spain where Cabeza de Vaca was from], because the husks are thin. When still green they [the Pueblo Indians] grind them and make balls that are eaten. When dried they grind the nuts with the husks, and eat them as meal."
Today, on weekends in the fall in high-desert mountain areas, New Mexican descendants of the original Spanish settlers still carry on the centuries-old tradition of picking piñon. The nuts are then often roasted and are available for sale at roadside stands.
Click the link below to see our selection of pinon products...