Aw Nuts: Bay Laurel, Acorn, Hazelnut, Pine, & More

Autumn is nut season - this deeply nutritional food has sustained indigenous people for generations. The California Bay Laurel tree is related to the avocado tree. You can see family resemblance in the shapes of leaves and green, teardrop fruit. But it stops there. To get the goodness from a bay laurel nut, you must peel off the green outer coating, roast, crack pick and then eat it. And it is an intense and super intriguing flavor. Acorns have been a staple food for indigenous people in California for centuries. Pine nuts are a gourmet treat that can be lots of work to extract, but well worth the effort. And hazelnuts grow in abundance in Northern California but often the creatures beat us to them! Come out and hike and taste and learn about some of the forests most nutritious foods.