10 Ways To Use Pine Nuts For More Than Just Pesto

The pine nut is a tiny, flavor-packed, and buttery nut typically associated with Genovese basil pesto. However, it is much more versatile than one may believe. Pine nuts — also called pignoli, pinon, or pinoli — are edible seeds derived from pine tree cones. When transformed pine nuts have an incredible toasted piney flavor reminiscent of their origin: pine trees. Since the culinary world utilizes them the same way it would a nut, most people commonly mistake pine nuts for true nuts, even though botanically speaking, they are seeds.

There are twenty-five pine nut species considered profitable and large enough to harvest that are sold on the international market. Everywhere from North America and the Mediterranean, to Eastern Asia, you can find a different pine nut with a distinct taste and characteristics associated with their region. Pine nuts from the Nevada basin resemble sweet fruits, while Chinese pine nuts have a slightly sharp bitter taste. Finding which pine nut is suitable for your desired taste and exploring different ways to utilize these buttery seeds best can take your culinary ventures to a new level. In the typical U.S. home, you'll typically find the Italian or Mediterranean stone variety. If you have some leftovers from your latest pesto-making session, don't let them sit in the back of the cabinet. There are abundant uses for pine nuts.

Pine nut oil is excellent for salads or drizzling on dips. When concentrated, these notes are even more pronounced. A great way to display pine nuts' distinct flavors is through a finishing oil that can be used to drizzle on foods to enhance and affect profile and aroma. Due to the high concentration of flavors, these oils shouldn't be exposed to direct heat, so use them right before serving to maximize the taste.

Crafting the perfect bottle of finishing oil may seem daunting, but it's relatively simple. You can flavor a finishing oil with almost anything, including fresh herbs, spices, and, of course, nuts! Always be sure to use olive oil as a base. Bonus points if it's blended olive oil — derived from olives of different origins — since these oils tend to have a weaker flavor, making them great for infusing. There are two different methods you can use to get the perfect drizzle. 

First is cold infusion, which involves blending oil and your desired flavoring in a food processor, then straining through a sieve and storing it in the refrigerator after each use. Second, there is heat infusion, which involves warming the oil to 125 degrees Fahrenheit and immediately removing it once it reaches temperature. After this process, add your chosen flavorings to diffuse. The longer the ingredient steeps, the stronger the taste will be. It can be left outside of the refrigerator, making it the perfect gift for a special occasion.

If you have trouble digesting gluten or are tired of the typical flour alternatives, give pine nuts a blitz in the food processor to create a tasty nut flour. Since pine nuts are high in fats, you'll need to use the variety with the least amount of oil content. Italian or Mediterranean stone pine nuts are the perfect choice. You can even find this variety of pine nuts de-oiled or pressed with a significant amount of the oil content removed.

If you can't find de-oiled pine nuts, simply roast them in the oven until golden brown to extract any excess oil. Before blitzing in a food processor, be sure to wipe any residual oil with a paper towel and cool your nuts to room temperature so you don't end up creating nut butter. Finally, blend the nuts until a powdery cloud of aromatic pine nut flour is created.

The best way to use your new gluten-free flour is in pastry dough, cakes, and breads. Pine nut flour is a great way to create all your favorite desserts to add a hint of flavor. The next time you're baking the Italian pine nut-adorned torta della nonna, try a few tablespoons of pine nut flour to add another kick of piney flavor and aroma.

Level up your nut-based milk with the distinctive taste of pine nuts. These tiny, slightly creamy nuts are the perfect addition to your morning iced coffee. For those of you who haven't hopped on the lactose-free milk alternative bandwagon, nut milk is simply milk made from blended nuts. The majority of dairy-free milk that is readily available is flavored with almond, oat, or soy. While delicious and distinct in their own right, those options can grow to be underwhelming after some time, which gives you the perfect excuse to craft new nut milk by utilizing the mighty pine nut.

Creating a batch of pine nut milk is fairly simple since it follows the same methodology as other kinds of nut milk. Start by soaking the nuts overnight for around six to twelve hours to ensure they are soft and easy to blend. Then, blitz the soaked nuts in a high-speed blender until creamy and frothy. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, serve, and enjoy your homemade nut milk.

There are countless ways to enjoy homemade pine nut milk other than adding it to your coffee. Test out replacing it in dessert recipes such as puddings, panna cotta, and cakes to create more plant-friendly options. You can even go further by replacing milk and cream with it in roux or cream-based sauces for a lactose-friendly option.

If you're searching for a surefire way to give your salads or dips a bit more flair — either visually or as an interesting flavor anecdote for your guests — try adding some pine nuts as a garnish. Whether toasted, roasted, or chopped, pine nuts are a flawless way to enhance your flavors and bring your foods to the next level.

For centuries, pine nuts have been used as a garnish for savory foods and desserts around the globe. In most Middle Eastern cuisines, pine nuts have been used to adorn food as a signal of a family's good fortune and prosperity. Recipes such as Persian jeweled rice and Palestinian musakhan are dotted with numerous pine nuts as a kind gesture to guests. Not only are pine nuts used symbolically as garnishes, but they add another level of richness and texture.

There are numerous ways to use pine nuts as a garnish to add a stylish touch to whatever you're serving, try roasting pine nuts in the oven for a few minutes and sprinkling them over your salad or hummus. If you're looking for a bit more punch, try blitzing them into a fine powder and sprinkling it over braised meats or steaks to add a hint of nutty flavor. Whatever ways you use pine nuts in your kitchen, they are a perfect way to bring elegance and flavor to your home-cooked meals.

If you want to unlock your inner bartender, try infusing liquors with pine nuts. These buttery delights are an excellent way to add subtle notes to any liquor you've been wanting to infuse. With a high oil content, pine nuts are the perfect choice for alcohol infusion.

When placed into your desired liquor, the oils from the pine nuts allow the alcohol to draw in the fat molecules, infusing it with essential flavors and aromas. This method is known as fat-washing, which involves the incorporation of nuts, fruits, and other foods into liquor, letting them sit to extract their oils, to flavor the liquor as a result. All in all it's an easy way to create unique flavor profiles that add a punch to your cocktails.

If you're having trouble deciding which liquor to infuse, try using one with similar flavor profiles as pine nuts, like whiskey, brandy, or bourbon. A warming dark liquor pairs excellently with the robust woody aromas of pine nuts. To get the process started, grind a good amount of roasted pine nuts and combine them with your desired liquor. Allow the liquor to infuse for a few days or until the taste is just right for you. Once your desired flavor profile is reached, strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove any nut particles from the liquor. Now that you've created an aromatic bottle of pine nut-infused liquor you can enjoy it neat or craft an exciting cocktail.

Another way to use pine nuts is to grind them into coffee beans to add aromatic and flavorful zing to your cup of coffee. Pine nuts have a delicate flavor profile compared to coffee beans, so you're going to want to get the perfect ratio of beans to nuts. According to Koffee Kompanions, the best ratio is two parts coffee beans to one part pine nuts. One way to get even more flavor is by roasting your pine nuts for a few minutes to better extract the essential oils. After roasting, grind the pine nuts together with your coffee beans, and then carry on with your morning coffee routine as usual.

However, it doesn't have to stop at coffee beans. Infusing tea with pine nuts is another great way to use up these tiny oil-packed nuts that you might have lying in your pantry. During weddings or special occasions in Tunisia, it is common to be served hot Maghrebi-style mint tea with pine nuts floating on top. The pine nuts give the mint tea another depth of flavor from the piney and buttery aromas. Plus you'll still be able to taste the lovely flavor of pine nuts without the caffeine jitters from coffee.

Whether it's coffee or tea, both ways are excellent choices to utilize pine nuts besides the typical basil pesto pairing. Furthermore, both beverages will go perfectly with your tasty new nut milk to create a full-flavored pine nut latte.

Tired of the same old nut butter on the grocery shelves? Try giving pine nuts a whizz in the blender to turn them into creamy, robust nut butter. These tiny nuts are packed with vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, dietary fibers, and iron, making pine nut butter an amazing well-balanced spread for your morning toast.

Pine nut butter, or any nut butter for that matter, is pretty straightforward to create from your kitchen. You only need two things: a food processor and patience. When blending, it takes upwards of ten minutes for the nuts to go from whole to chunks, then finally into a creamy nut butter. If you're in a bit of a hurry, try adding a tablespoon of neutral oil to speed up the mixing process. A few great ways to add additional flavor are by sprinkling in some salt, adding chocolate, or a dash of vanilla extract. These suggestions aren't necessary, although they'll surely take your pine nut butter to the next level.

Once you've got your hands on some delectable pine nut butter, don't limit yourself by using this strictly on toast. Try adding it on top of pancakes or yogurt bowls, and even folding it into a buttercream for cakes. Pine nut butter is suitable for whatever your heart and taste buds desire. It's time to switch out that boring jar of peanut butter and utilize pine nuts differently for the exclusive and rich taste of pine nut butter.

Another surprising way pine nuts can be used for more than just pesto is to thicken sauces and creams. Once pulverized into a powder, they can replace cornstarch or roux in almost any sauce. This may come in handy if you're looking to thicken a sauce when cooking for a gluten-intolerant guest or simply don't want the stress of breaking a roux.

Pine nuts and a few other fatty nuts like pine nuts, walnuts, and almonds are great choices due to the high level of polyunsaturated fats. These high-fat-containing nuts can assist in binding water and fat molecules together, creating an emulsified sauce. Not only do they make a good thickener, but pine nuts also contribute a subtle earthy note to sauces. In Provencal cuisine, it is common to replace the common wheat flour roux used in most French sauces with a nut flour roux, which thickens and improves the taste of the sauce.

Sauces aren't the only thing you can thicken with pine nuts — soups and stews can benefit from the solidifying qualities of pine nuts. Jatjuk, a Korean rice porridge, is thickened with both rice and pine nuts, creating a complex, richly textured soup with intoxicating aromas of pine nuts. So if your sauce or soup might be a little too runny, try throwing a few pine nuts in and they might just save the day.

The best cookies are the ones that have you coming back for seconds and maybe the occasional secret third. When you're looking to level up your next batch of cookies, try throwing in a few pine nuts to the mix. Adding pine nuts will not only liven up the taste of your cookies, but it'll also give them an irresistible crunchy bite. You can use the pine nuts whole or chopped, and they'll surely add a level of tenderness and crunch you can't find elsewhere. 

The taste of toasted pine nuts is unparalleled, especially when paired with a soft and chewy cookie, making it irresistible and delectable. Toasted pine nuts shine especially bright when used in the king of Italian cookies: pignoli cookies. These Sicilian delights are made from a mouthwatering almond-based dough that is completely covered in pine nuts and confectioner's sugar.

If you're looking to step outside the box try making the favorite sweet potato cookies of Spain's Catalan region, panellet cookies. These are a traditional treat for All Saint's Day, and they feature sweet potato and chestnut dough balls that are rolled in pine nuts. Whether you're making pignoli or panellets cookies, pine nuts are a superb addition to add a bit of texture and taste to your next batch of cookies. And once you put out these delightful bites for your family, they'll be gone in seconds!

A simple way to elevate a tart or cake is by decorating it with beautifully ornate pine nuts. It's clear that this small irresistible nut adds an immense amount of taste and texture to anything it graces — though its visual appearance is just as delectable. Decorating pine nuts on top of cakes, petit fours, or even mousses as a whimsical yet sophisticated touch.

Pine nut-adorned desserts span the globe. There's the famous Italian cake, torta della nonna, featuring a sweetened tart dough with vanilla pastry crowned with heaps of pine nuts. Another popular dessert showcasing pine nuts is baklava. While baklava comes in many different nut variations like pistachio and walnuts — pine nuts are the most treasured version due to their high price point and coveted exclusivity of the product.

Besides cloaking desserts in the beauty of pine nuts you get creative in the kitchen and try caramelizing them into a brittle and then shattering the crystallized nuts over soft desserts such as ice cream, puddings, or mousses. The caramelized pine nuts not only display a crunchy, tantalizing texture they also convey a sense of knowledge and appreciation for the craft of pastry arts. Another creative way to decorate desserts with pine nuts is by dehydrating them in the oven and artfully placing them over whichever dessert needs an elegant touch. Nonetheless presenting these tiny and buttery nuts through a dessert is an extraordinary special way to make use of the pine nuts.