The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-04-03
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC ). HASKIN. DirectOr,
washington. ID. @.
a RIVAL OF THE PEANUT


tree which the Southwest Indians have
been Using for food for centuries, has
at last come into its own as a popular
delicacy. A periodic bumper crop OF
the little brown nuts in the mountains
! of New Mexico this season has resulted
in the commercializing in the east of
! the pinon as an exclusive product of
/ the southwest highlands.
The pinion is volunteer. Nature
does the farming, the Indians do the
harvesting and the traders do the
marketing. The nuts are produced
/ each fall at an expense to no one,
the pine cones dropping their ripe
seeds -lavishly on the ground. They
are gathered by the Indians who bring
| them to the trading posts for shipping
to eastern markets. The gatherer is
paid for his labor in harvesting the
nuts.
The species of two-leafed scrub pine
which produces the edible seed known
as the pinon is found scattered thru
the four southwestern states of New
Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.
1t occurs, associated with cedar and
juniper trees, in dry rocky soils at al
titudes between five and nine thou
sand feet The tree has a shriveled
reaches a height of about 16 feet. 1t
grows slowly and sometimes attains
an age of over 500 years. Its scien-
tific name is Pinus eduiis.
pinon bears only once every five years.
1t is true that exceptionally large
crops occur only at intervals of from
three to seven years, but there is a
crop each year. The nut requires two
years to ripen and while last seasons
crop lies on the ground beneath the
pine tree the next crop Is maturing
in smaller cones on the tree. The 1921
crop was one of the largest in recent
years, about 100000 pounds being
gathered in New Mexico alone
Gathering the PinOn.
In October. the big harvest season,
bands of Indians flock to the noun
tains where the pinon trees are to be
found. There they camp, moving
along as they exhaust the crop of each
area. The Indians, after thier own
INDECENT fashion, pick up the tiny nuts
by hand from the ground. Their
white brothers, however, spread a big
tarpaulin over the ground beneath the
tree and shake the limbs until every
cone is emptied. The nuts are carried
in sacks and baskets TO the nearest
Indian trading post, where they are
sold to the dealer who ships them to
market.
The nuts are shipped in 10000
pound carload lots to the east. where
they are purchased by candy makers,
clubs, and hotels, and by companies
which Vend the nut in various ways.
The man who gathers the pinons is
paid from five TO ten cents a pound,
the wholesale dealers average about
, cents a pound and the retailers sell
the nuts at about 25 cents a pound
in the west. The 1921 crop in New
Mexico, the only state to market the
nuts on a large scale, is valued at
about $500, 900.
Strangers to the exotic little brown
nut in the east are making its ac-
quaintance thru %he agency of slot
machines which are placed in the sub
A 81
in the slot brings a handful of the
pinonA The sudden fad for the nuts
sold in this fashion increased the price
over 100 per cent last season. PinonS
bring about dollar pound in slot
machine sales.
But the unshelled pinon is difficult
to eat. The birds and squirrels who
live on them and the Indian who
considers them staple article of
winter diet, have time aplenty to
crack the thin brittle shells to obtain
the rich meat inside. Few others,
except perhaps practiced "pinon bust
ers' who have the habit. will take the
time or risk their teeth in cracking
ready to eat, however, is a great
delicacy.
It remained for a woman of vision
and infinite patience to solve the
immediate use. Mrs. Fannie S. Spitz
of Albuquerque, n. NJ. is the inventor
of the first machine made for the
of the little nuts. Believing
that it was possible to shell the pinons
in large qantities Mrs. Spitz expert
mented until she evolved a machince
that would do the work. 1t was neces-
sary for her to tour the country study
ing various nutshelling devices and to
spend over three months apprentice
ship in machine shop in order to
perfect her invention
The novel machine, on which this
woman inventor holds the patent, is
power driven with a capacity of about
so pounds of shelled nuts a day. The
efficiency and simplicity OF the ma
chine are remarkable. the cleaned and
sorted nuts pouring into a hopper and
out in stream of white
whole meats In the basement factory
at her home. Mrs Spitz alone shelled
and marketed 900 pounds of pinons
last year She markets the nuts in
cartons and glass jars
The food value of the ,pinon is B.
142 calories per pound. This is twice |
the value of an equal weight of dried |
beans, over four times that of boiled |
eggs and half again as much more as
a pound of peanuts. The shelled nut |
is composed of 2.59 per cent water. |
fat, 1923 per cent carbohydrates, |
sugars, starches. etc.) and 2.6S per |
cent ash.@
The use of the nut seems to be I'M |
limited. The pinon adds a delicious /
and harmonizing flavor to most food. |
1t is often served by fastidious chefs /
IN vegetable soups and in the dressing |
Or baked fowl. In salads it combines /
with all fruits and vegetables and is
used in all sorts of CONNECTIONS and
pastry The pinon praline is one of 1
he most popular nut novelties As a /
1iet for persons afflicted with certain /
kidney ailments the pinon is said to be
excellent.
As an industry the pinon harvest /
ng and marketing is destined to be-
come one of New Mexico's great com
mercial enterprises. Little known
hruout the eastern part of the coun-
Nv until last Near- tha rarrt l,nn - |