Can you actually get edible nuts from pine cones?

Question

If so, how does one get the nuts out of the cone?

Answer 1

Yes; pine nuts can be purchased in any supermarket - and they really do come from pine cones.

Most pine cones have thin, flaky seeds. However, certain types of pine trees have thick, meaty nuts in their cones; just crack the cone open and you can get the nuts out. Pinyon pines are one such variety and are common in some parts of the US. I have actually eaten the nuts from pinyon pines; you literally just pick up the cones off the ground, crack them open, and shake the nuts out.

For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_nut

Answer 2

yes in Portugal they export them
the only way to get them out of the pinecones is by roasting the cones from the umbrella pine

these trees are an important regrowth factor after natural forrest fires
they are small topedo shaped very soft white nuts no more than a centimeter long
delicious and very expensive

Answer 3

yes it is called a "pine nut" -- The edible seed of more than a dozen species of evergreen cone-bearing trees in the genus Pinus, native to the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. The important nut-producing species are the stone pine (P. pinea) of southern Europe; the Swiss stone pine (P. cembra), native to the Swiss Alps and eastward through Siberia to Mongolia; and the pinon pine (P. cembroides var. edulis) of the arid regions of the southwestern United States. The seeds or nuts, variable in size according to species, are borne in cones which take 3–4 years to develop. See also Pine.

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Answer 4

Yes, I use them all the time in cooking. I buy them at the grocery store.