Pine nuts.

About 80% of the pine nuts in shells harvested annually is made in September/October in the vast forests in the borders of Russia, China, Korea and Mongolia borders, the first two countries representing each a third of the world production. Northeast China is the most known and the most important region to produce pine nuts: they are "red pines": Pinus Koraiensis Sieb. The Russian pine nuts which grow on the other side of the border are identical with a calibre from 600 to 900 grains/100g. But this is not the only one. At Shanxi, the "massons pine" grow: Pinus Massoniana Lamb. If the quality of the pine nuts is more or less identical, their calibre is much smaller than the one of the red pines: 1800-2200/100g. For that reason, their price is much cheaper.