What is the significance of the pine nut in Italian culture?

Some information can be found here, and some more here.

In reading about it on those two websites, I found it interesting that even though we think of it primarily in connection with Italian cooking, it was and is used by many other cultures as well.

Confession: I always thought ‘pine nut’ was a misnomer, but discovered today that they actually are from regular old pine trees! Learn something new everyday. :)

It’s a tasty nut. What more do you need?

But often expensive. I often substitute it with sunflower seeds. Works very well.

Pesto.

@augustlan oh ya in my culture (Native North American) we use them for food and for other purposes like beads

Interesting! What native people is that?

Mmmm… pesto…

/me drools

@oratio Well for the pine nuts it is pan-Indian right now but there are various tribes who traditionally used them. Especially in the Northwest where we have tons of pine trees. Haha. To be honest there are just too many tribes to list and I only know about a few of them myself.

If you are asking what NDN I am (sorry wasn’t sure exactly) I am Lakota & Cherokee. I grew up with the Klamath/Modoc tribes of Southern Oregon of which my husband is affiliated.

@RedPowerLady No, I meant you, though the traditions are interesting too. Fascinating.

NDN
“a cool way of saying your indian…it also confuses white people”

@oratio Thanx for that link. Pretty cool :)
One of these days I’m going to make my own list of NDN slang. Haha.

and if people think that NDN is offensive you can tell them “it stands for Native Demographic Northamerican—and, besides, only us NDNs can use it, paleface.”(*)

just the same way that, as a person all four of whose grandparents emigrated from Italy to the USA as children, i can tell jokes about wops (of which i know a few that, really, don’t work about any other ethnic group) but i’m entitled to get offended if anyone else does. which drags the topic back to Italian culture and hence pignoli nuts. My wife is Irish, but she has shown her good taste by adopting pignolis, wine biscuits, and ricotta as some of her favorite foods—and, of course, by marrying me.<grin>

(*) or “Native Demographic NewWorldIslander”, so as not to disrespect any people of native South American ethnic heritage—say, contemprary with the Clovis culture.

From what I’ve seen on the food network, it’s mainly used for pesto.