Chocolate 22: Scots pine catkins and seeds

Day 22

Scots pine catkins and seeds Pinus sylvestris




The last of our flower and fruit combos - this time the male flowers of the pine tree, and the seeds.  We use many parts of the Scots pine tree over the year, from young spring shoots, the unripe catkins, the very young green cones, and in this chocolate, the seeds!  It takes two years for the seeds to develop - the female flowers appear at the very tips of the new shoots each spring, and the seed-bearing cones from two seasons ago are two seasons growth behind them on the branch!

The seeds are small given they take so long to grow and the trees go on to be so big!  They are not the pine nuts of Mediterranean fame, and come attached to a wing that is surprisingly irritating to remove!  On fine dry late summer days, the ripe cones crack open (such a pleasure to be out in the woods when this happens) and release little winged seeds that spiral away in the breeze, off to find new ground and life.

The catkins are plump and crisp little nuggets before they ripen and can be picked, shicked off the stem and crystalised.  We have added them and the toasted (and dewinged, you are welcome) seeds.  The chocolate we paired them with is NearyNogs Ecuador 60% plain chocolate - so a lovely nutty, crunchy delight.

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