
Cedar nuts are a world famous source of health and youthfulness. Its chemical composition includes a large number of minerals, amino acids and vitamins that have beneficial effects on the health of both adults and children. It is a tasty, useful and valuable foodstuff, because the tree where the cedar nut grows bears fruit on average only after 20 years of growth. The cones are harvested twice a year according to a special technology that has been preserved for many years.
Where pine nuts are harvested
The so-called Siberian cedar grows mainly in the Taiga. Its distribution area covers Western and Eastern Siberia along the entire forest belt, and slopes sharply to the south in the north. From the Urals, the Siberian pine extends only as far as the Timan Ridge. This tree has already become a real symbol of "Siberian health". However, the real cedar does not produce edible fruits.
Cedar nuts are the seeds of a pine tree, which can also be found in Novosibirsk region, Novokuznetsk, Tomsk, Trans-Baikal Territory and Altai. It was named Cedar from its external resemblance to the Lebanese Cedar.
Cedar nut, which grows in the Far East, is the fruit of the Korean pine. It is 2 times larger than the Siberian and its seeds are 1.5 times larger, but it is the latter that is most widespread. The maximum lifespan of the cedar pine is 500 years.
When to harvest pine nuts
The ripening period of the nuts lasts about 18 months and ends in September-October (in Primorye - in November), when the wind begins to pull the cones from the trees easily. The exact timing of the harvest depends on the weather conditions in a particular area. The ripe cones are light brown in color and have hard kernels.
The Siberian pine grows quite slowly, so it begins to bear fruit at least after 20-50 years of growth. The tree reaches an impressive height of 45 meters. From the moment the buds are formed to their full maturity takes at least 2 years. A high yield of cones can only be obtained every 4-8 years. Each of them contains more than 100 seeds.
Favorable conditions for the ripening and shedding of the cedar tree harvest are wet weather. If it is too dry, the cones can remain firmly fixed with resin on the branches. Unripe fruits should not be knocked off the tree, as it is bad for the forest's inhabitants - the pine tree serves as a food base for taiga birds and animals. Late harvesting is limited to the hunting season.
The seed harvest ends with the first snowfall - around the end of October. The harvest lasts no more than two months. In the spring the nuts are harvested from April to May, but it is the fall harvest that is considered the greatest.
How to harvest pine nuts
Pine nut harvesting is a labor-intensive process. It is carried out in several stages and requires a team of several people. Each of them performs a different function:
- Some pick up the fallen cones that have not yet had time to be scattered by bird and animal inhabitants;
- Others climb trees and knock down ripe fruits with a long pole with a hook on the end;
- Other members of the brigade knock down the nuts with a log hammer that weighs up to 50 kilograms. Its sound, which spreads throughout the Taiga, announces the beginning of the harvest. This method is considered the most difficult and requires physical training. Each blow makes the pine tree shake and the ripe nuts fall off in a solid web.
The nuts are collected in special bags and transported for further processing. No more than one bag of cones can usually be gathered from a single tree.
Poachers are also often involved in the collection of nuts. They are known to use any collection method, including the use of a metal mallet. It can be used to knock off all the cones at once, but it leaves non-healing marks on the pine tree, or as they are also called "smashing" wounds. After such a blow the tree dies.
Pine nuts can be eaten both raw and roasted. Other food products made from them are cake, milk and oil. All of them retain the useful properties of nuts and are widely used in folk medicine, cooking, dietetics and cosmetology.