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Bulk News
Sourcing Pine Nuts
In our Bulk Department we are having issues finding Pine Nuts that are not grown in China. Chinese Pine Nuts have been associated with a condition called “pine mouth”. The symptoms of pine mouth are a metallic taste that can stay around for days or even weeks. While Chinese pine nuts are cheaper, and readily available, we feel it isn’t worth the risk of having this happen to one of our customers. Our usual distributor where we source our Spanish Pine Nuts from, is no longer carrying them. At the moment there isn’t a clear date as to when we will be getting Pine Nuts back into our store, but in the meantime here are some suggestions:
Substituting walnuts for pine nuts creates a delicious pesto that is a lot more affordable
Ingredients
1/3 cup walnuts
2 ½ cup basil leaves
¼ tsp sea salt
1-2 cloves of garlic
2-4 TB grape-seed oil or other flavorless oil
½ to ¾ cups extra-virgin olive oil
½ to ¾ cups grated Parmesan
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
Either toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant and lightly golden or use the walnuts untoasted. Place garlic cloves and salt in the bowl of a food processor to finely chop. Add the basil leaves, walnuts and Parmesan cheese and process until the mixture is chopped and blended. With the motor running, add just enough grape-seed oil (or other flavorless oil) through the feed tube to form a thick paste. Transfer to a bowl and drizzle olive oil over the pesto, stirring until the desired consistency is achieved. Season to taste with more salt, if needed, and a few grinds of black pepper.
Cashews also make a great substitute for Pine Nuts.
If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Our Bulk Buyer Graham, will be happy to answer all of your questions.
For further reading on pine mouth,
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2009/05/got-pine-mouth.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-03-16-Pinemouth16_ST_N.htm
Posted in: Blog, Department News
