Home / Bazaar / Balochistan / Chilgoza pine nuts
For the kitchen · Gifts
Long pine nuts, roasted in the shell
Winter’s most prized snack, from the pine forests of the Suleiman mountains.
$20–60
Find chilgoza on Amazon ↗If you buy through this link we may earn a small commission. It never changes your price.
The story
Chilgoza are long, slim pine nuts from the chilgoza pine, which grows in the mountains of northern Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The forests around Zhob are among the largest of their kind.
They are roasted in the shell and cracked open by hand, usually around a fire in winter. They are one of the most expensive nuts in Pakistan.
In pictures
Photos coming soon. Each frame below says what it will show.
History
Families living near the forests have harvested chilgoza for generations, and the nuts have long been traded down to the cities of Pakistan and beyond.
How it’s made
Cones are picked from the trees in autumn.
Cones are dried or heated so they open.
Nuts are shaken out of the cones.
Nuts are roasted in their shells for sale.
Kinds
The traditional way to eat them.
Easier, but more expensive and less common.
In Pakistan
A handful of chilgoza is a winter treat and a generous gift, eaten with green tea around a fire.
Buy it well
| Genuine | Likely a copy |
|---|---|
| Long, slim nuts, 2 to 3 cm | Short, round pine nuts from other species |
Where to buy
We may earn a small commission. Your price is the same.
Find chilgoza on Amazon ↗Typical price: $20–60, before shipping. Read the “Buy it well” checks above before you order, and ask the seller for photos of the exact piece.
Questions
Crack the thin shell with your teeth or fingers and eat the nut inside.
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