September 12 in Russia was considered a nut day. By this time, the core is finally poured with all the nutrients and the shell becomes ruddy. The harvesting of nuts begins. The most refined delicacy is red-hot nut. It is not only delicious, but also the most wholesome and nutritious product.
Harvesting nuts. What does "hot nut" mean
In the fall, not only people begin to work on nuts. There are only rustles in the forest - they drag mouse nuts into their minks, or the squirrel on the trees selects the ripest fruit. In Russia, nuts found in a mouse hole were sold at a special price, were considered the most expensive, and were called "mouse". The squirrel also chooses a nut in its own way: it hits the branches with a paw and watches which one will stop swinging last, with that one it collects the most ripe and tasty nuts.
The most delicious dish in Russia was red-hot nut. Fried in a cast iron pan, the fruits become more juicy, easier to crack. Master carvers made special nutcrackers - figures in the form of soldiers, boyars. Put a nut in his mouth, click on the handle at the back - the peeled kernels will fall directly into your hand. Nutritious nut has long been known to all. They contain 70% of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins.
Pine nut
In nature on the whole Earth you will not find a more powerful healer than cedar. By his strength, he knows no equal. Even Avicenna at one time recommended using husk and pine kernel for treatment . As a general strengthening, cleansing agent for the body, he recommended daily use of 1 tablespoon of kernels with light wine or honey. Siberian health is not empty words. It is Siberians who highly value a natural healer - father cedar. The locals make “vegetable cream” from nuts, which, when consumed, stimulate the absorption of fatty substances and regulate the functioning of the thyroid gland and internal organs. Hazelnut is also widely used in folk medicine. Pine nuts are considered the most expensive on the market. Its nutritional value is very high. Protein contained in pine nuts is digested by our body much easier and faster than that found in the same walnuts , almonds and peanuts. Residents of Siberia can only be envied that red hot pine nuts are considered to be their usual delicacy, it is not for nothing that they call it the best hotel and are always brought from these places to friends and acquaintances.
Useful properties of pine nuts
Siberian nut in its core contains up to 16% protein, 60% drying oil, starch, sugar, pentosans, fiber, vitamin C, various minerals. Kernels can be eaten raw. Someone prefers hot nut, its taste is more saturated, the husk is easier to remove. The physiological value of the protein is very high, contains eighteen amino acids, 70% of which are considered indispensable. Walnut protein contains so much methionine, lysine, tryptophan, cystine, which exceeds the composition of cow's milk protein. Cedar oil contains a large amount of tocopherols - fat-soluble vitamins, fatty acids, which have antioxidant activity. According to the content of tocopherols, cedar oil exceeds walnuts 1.5 times, and peanut butter 5 times. Essential fatty acids in it are 3 times more than in peanut, and 1.5 times more than in sunflower. There is a record amount of phosphate phosphorus, so necessary for our body, in cedar oil, so much is not in any product.
How to cook nuts
Boiled pine nuts have a delicate taste, and the husk becomes much softer, it is easier to get the nucleolus. For future use they are harvested in pure form, since they are not stored for long in cones. In the taiga, Siberians build hand mills where the cones are crushed, then sieved.
Red hot nuts have a very hard shell, so some people like to cook it. To do this, take as many nuts as you plan to eat. Pour them into the pan, pour water and cook for 15-20 minutes. Nuts become soft, it is better to crack them across, so the nucleolus does not crease and remains intact.
To easily remove the nuts from the cone, you can boil them. Only a saucepan for these purposes needs to be made separate (cedar resin is unlikely to be washed from the walls). Cones are boiled for a long time - two hours. Then the fruits are easily removed. Many people prefer to calcine nuts in the oven afterwards.
How to roast nuts
We will tell those who prefer hot nuts how to cook such a delicacy: you can fry nuts in a pan and in the oven. Pour a thin layer into the pan, no need to pour oil. Stir constantly. The process lasts 10-15 minutes. As soon as you hear a crack, you can try. At the end of frying, sprinkle a little water (so the shell will become softer), cover with a towel. If you roast in the oven, first heat the oven, then put a baking sheet there, on which nuts are spread in an even layer. Ignite for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat and let cool. For softness, you can also sprinkle water at the end of frying.
A few tips on how to chop pine nuts :
- Pre-calcined nuts are poured with water for a while: the shell becomes softer, more supple.
- Place whole cones in the oven or oven. Nuts acquire a special aroma and are then easier to clear from the shell.
- In Buryatia, nuts are poured with a glass of boiling water for 15 minutes. After that, they split with teeth on the blunt side of the fetus.
- You can use pliers that have a notch on their lips. In size, it is just slightly smaller than a nut and easily splits it.
Pine nuts have practically no contraindications. But sometimes, with excessive use, you can feel a violation of taste, a bitter, metallic taste in your mouth. These violations pass by themselves in a few days.