Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-04-03

cents a pound, the wholesale deal
ers average Is cents a pound anC
the retailers sell the nuts al abou
rs cents a pound in the West. TIL,
1921 crop in New Mexico, the onl,
state to market the nuts on a large
scale. is valued at about $1,000 600.
Strangers to the exotic little
brown nut in the East are making
its acquaintance through the agency
of slot machines which are placed
in the subway stations of New York
A nickel in the slot brings a hand
full of the pinons. The sudden fad
for the nuts sold in this fashion in
creased the price W 100 per cent
last season. Pinons bring about a
dollar a pound in slot machine sales.
But the unshelled pinion is diff
cult to eat. The birds and squirrels
who live on them and the Indian
who considers them a staple article
of winter diet, have time aplenty to
crack the thin brittle shells to OBJ
tain the rich meat inside. Few 9TH
ers, except perhaps practiced "pinon
busters" who have the habit, will
take the time or risk their teeth in
cracking the nuts. The pinion she'll
ed and ready to eat, however, is a
great delicacy.
1t remained for a oma of vision
n infinite patience to solve the
problem of preparing the pinon for
immediate use. Mrs. Fannie S. Spitz
of Albuquerque. N. NJ. is the inven-
tor of the first machine made for
the selling of the little nuts. Be-
lieving that it was possible to shell
the pinons in large quantities, Mrs.
Spitz experimental until she evolved
a machine that would do the work.
II mos nnaASGarx n fo- hAr 70 tAtt., tE1
country studying various nutshell
ing devices and to spend over three
months apprenticeship in a machine
shop in order to perfect her inven-
ton.
Shelled by Machinery
The novel machine. on which this
woman inventor holds the patent, is
ABOUT so pounds of shelled nuts a
day. The efficiency and simplicity
of the machine are remarkable, the
cleaned and sorted nuts pouring into
a hopper and flowing out in a
stream of white whole meats. In
the basement factory at her home
Mrs Spitz alone shelled and mar
keted 10000 pounds of pinons last
year. She markets the nuts in card
board cartons and glass jars.
The food value of the pinon IS
1913 a PSA PoaAAo us .
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. 1898 per cent pro-
tein, 1888 per cent. fat, 1920 per
e N carbohydrates. (sugar starches,
etc. and 2.6S per cent. ash.
The use of the nut seems to be
unlimited. The pinon adds a deli
cious and harmonizing flavor to
most food. 1t is often served by
fastidious chefs in vegetable soups
and in the dressing of 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 the most
popular nut novelties. AS a diet for
persons afflicted with certain kid
ney ailments the pinon is said to
be excellent.
AS an industry the pinon harvest
ing and marketing is destined to be-
come one of New Mexico's great
commercial enterprises. Little known
throughout the eastern part of the
country until last year. the nut has
created a demand for itself hat the
state has found difficult to supply.
Other states in which the pine tree
bears edible seeds will soon turn to
their forests to supply the sweet
tooth of a nut eating nation.