The edible seeds of the pinus pinea are pinenuts. It is a large plant whose height varies between 15 and 25m. The trunk is very resinous and the crown is globose and umbiliform; the bark is thick and cracked into rhombic scales; the leaves are perennial and needle-shaped rather stiff; the fruits are stroble called pine cones, with reddish-brown scales containing the seeds called pine nuts. About 25kg of pine nuts with shell and only 6-8 kg of pine nuts without shell can be obtained from 100kg of pine cones. To obtain the finished product, the cones are collected between autumn and spring, stacked and left to dry until the first suns of spring. The heat facilitates the extraction of the pine nuts that are later shelled, washed, dried, selected and packaged. Pine nuts are essential for pesto and various other dishes including cakes, such as castagnaccio and strudel.