Pine nuts have excellent taste and contain a lot of nutrients, and you can get this natural product from the fruits of cedar, which is also called Siberian pine. To facilitate the process of extracting cores, it is necessary to conduct the correct processing of raw materials, cleaning it from the resin. More information about why to cook cedar cones and how to carry out this procedure correctly at home, as well as about the features of use and tips for using this product - later in the article.

Why boil a cedar cone and whether to do it

The process of cooking pine cones is mandatory if the contents of the fruit (i.e. pine nuts) will be used for culinary purposes. This procedure helps to get rid of the resin, which covers the outer surface of hard scales. Under the influence of hot liquid, it melts and begins to go away. After that, you can easily get the nuts inside, breaking the boiled cone manually.

Did you know? Cedar wood is very strong and durable. In ancient Egypt, sarcophagi were made from it for the burial of the pharaohs, and also used to build palaces.

How to cook pine cones

To facilitate the process of extracting the kernels of nuts, certain recommendations should be followed during cooking. In this case, it is necessary to perform several preparatory measures, as well as know how much to keep the product in a boiling liquid so that it is cooked, but does not lose all the useful substances.

Training

To achieve the best result, you need to use suitable dishes for cooking cones and prepare high-quality raw materials.

At the same time adhere to such recommendations:

• to cook the fruits, use an old pan or an unnecessary bucket - the emitted resin eats up into the walls of the container and can ruin the new dishes;
• the procedure is recommended to be carried out in the open air, since during cooking the fruits exude a very strong specific aroma;
• the harvesting of raw materials is performed in the fall, selecting fully ripened fruits;
• Only fruits covered with fully lignified scales are suitable for cooking.

How much and how to cook

The cooking time of the cones depends on their size. Small specimens are enough to heat cook for half an hour, and larger ones are cooked for at least 45-60 minutes. It is not recommended to keep the fruits in boiling water for a long time - while they lose most of the vitamins.

Video: Cooking Cedar Cones

Step-by-step cooking instructions:

1. Fold the product in a cookware. Pour the cones with water or milk so that they are completely covered with liquid.
2. Put a bunch of grass on top (for example, a few large leaves of burdock). During cooking, they absorb resin, which will rise to the surface of the liquid.
3. Cover the fruit with oppression (for example, a metal lid, the diameter of which is slightly smaller than the width of the container). This will help them to remain in the liquid all the time during cooking.
4. Put the cones on the stove, bring to a boil.
5. Leave the product to cook for 40-60 minutes, depending on the size of the fruit. Then remove the container from the fire by pulling grass out of it.
6. Tilt the boiled fruits into a colander so that excess liquid is removed from them. Leave them to cool at room temperature.

How to cook without grass

There is another way that allows you to effectively and simply clean the pine cones from the resin and make their flakes pliable for extracting nuts. This method involves the thermal treatment of fruits in a bonfire bred in the fresh air..

Important! The readiness of pine cones is determined by the smell - when it becomes especially caustic and strong, the raw materials can be removed from the stove.

The collected raw materials are placed in hot coals (as when baking potatoes in nature) and kept for about half an hour. Under the influence of the heat of the fire, the resin melts and flows out, clearing the fruits. The cones roasted in this way are pulled out of the fire, allowed to cool, and the nuts are removed manually from them.

How to eat pine cones

There are many salads, snacks and desserts, the preparation of which uses pine nuts, and the cones themselves are almost never eaten. But at home, you can make vitamin jam with curative properties from the young fruits of cedar. It is especially useful to use this delicacy to strengthen immunity and to treat cough.

Did you know? In Siberia, vegetable cream is made from pine nuts. They are obtained 3 times more nutritious than a similar product from cow's milk, as the raw material contains about 79% fat.

The most popular jam recipes:

1. With lemon juice. Pour 1 kg of fruit with cold water, boil, cook for 20 minutes. Drain the water by pushing the cones into a colander. Boil sweet syrup from 500 ml of water, dissolving 1 kg of granulated sugar in a liquid, place the boiled fruits in it, cook for half an hour. 5 minutes before cooking, add 2 tsp. lemon juice.
2. Cinnamon. Put 1 kg of cones in a saucepan, add water, bring to a boil. Cook the raw materials for 10 minutes, then add 1 kg of sugar and ground cinnamon to taste to it. Boil the mass over low heat for 2 hours.
3. For children. Prepare syrup from 400 ml of water and 1.5 kg of sugar. Dip into it 1 kg of fruit cut into pieces and leave to infuse for 4 hours. After that, boil the mass, turn it off and leave for another 2 hours at room temperature. Repeat this procedure 2 more times, and then boil the mixture on the stove and cook it for 1 hour on low heat until thickened.

Hot jam is poured into sterilized jars, corked with lids and stored in a cool dark place (refrigerator or cellar) for several months

What else to do with cedar cones

Ripe fruits of the tree have an attractive appearance; therefore, they can serve as material for creating handmade gifts and souvenirs. Due to the high content of useful elements, cedar cones are often used in traditional medicine recipes to improve health and treat many ailments.

The product is able to provide antiseptic effect, helps relieve pain spasms and quickly heal wounds, therefore, drugs prepared from it are used internally and externally. Young fruits of cedar are suitable for the manufacture of medicinal tinctures and mixtures. In this case, you can take fresh cones or boil them with the addition of other ingredients.

Boiled

Boiled cedar cones are the main ingredient in healing broths. They contribute to the treatment of blood diseases and hemorrhoids, eliminate the inflammatory processes in the throat, and when applied topically, they help to cope with skin diseases.

The most popular recipes:

1. Grind 80 g of raw materials, dip in 400 ml of boiling water, leave for an hour. Consume 100 ml 4 times daily before meals with diabetes, internal bleeding and thyroid disease.
2. Finely chop several cedar cones, pour them 300-400 ml of water, bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. Allow the hot mass to infuse for 30 minutes, consume for pain in the stomach and diarrhea half a cup a day or wipe the inflamed areas of the skin, purulent wounds with a decoction.
3. Grind the fruits, mix 1 hour of the obtained raw material with 250 ml of milk, boil the mixture, and then boil it for several minutes. Take three times a day for 2 tbsp. before eating with inflammation of various internal organs.

Fresh

Fresh cedar cones are commonly used in folk medicine to make tinctures. Drugs Received help to cope with colds and coughs, inflammation of the gums and throat, hypertension, and are also used to strengthen immunity and improve the digestive system.

Important! Collecting pine cones is recommended away from industrial enterprises and highways. They put on gloves to protect their hands from tar.

The best prescriptions for medicines from fresh raw materials:

1. Fill the can with a capacity of 1 liter with washed fruits, pour them with vodka, leave for 10 days in a dark place. Take orally for 2-3 hours up to 3 times a day or use tincture for rinsing with diseases of the oral cavity 2 times a day (for 200 ml of water 2 tbsp. Drugs).
2. Grind 6-7 fruits of cedar, put them in a half-liter capacity, pour vodka and infuse for 10 days, and then add half a glass of honey and 1/3 tbsp. aloe juice. Add potion to tea for 1-2 tbsp. up to 3 times a day for the treatment of inflammation of the throat and gums.
3. Cut and fold in a glass container 7-8 cones, add 1 tbsp. Hawthorn fruit, 2 tbsp. honey, 2 tbsp. pharmacy valerian, 500 ml of vodka and the same amount of water. Stir the ingredients, clog the container and infuse the mixture in a dark place for about 2 weeks. With hypertension drink such a tool daily for 1 tbsp. before going to bed for 3 weeks.

Cedar cones are a source of healthy and nutritious nuts that can be easily obtained by boiling raw materials. In addition, from the fruits you can prepare traditional medicine that helps to cope with various diseases and strengthen the immune system.