Pino dell'Engadina

Swiss stone pines grow very slowly. Despite wind and weather, they stretch slowly but steadily towards the sun. They experience their first blossoming at an age when we are already retiring, and yet this stage of life is only the end of their youth. After all, they usually live to be several hundred - sometimes even over a thousand! - years old.

This sturdy pine species complains about neither the Engadin winters nor the altitude. It endures temperatures as low as -40°C stoically, leaving other tree species behind at the uppermost forest line. Its strong roots twine around bare rocks and stubbornly bore into the rock in search of support and water. The massive root system can hold mountain slopes together and thus protect settlements on slopes from landslides. For centuries, the people of the Engadin have revered their ‘Queen of the Alps’ and can hardly imagine life without the Swiss stone pine

Engadin nut tart – without nuts, but still original

It is a true classic, known far beyond the country's borders, a real export hit: the Engadin nut cake with its delicious caramelised filling made from chopped walnuts. Emigré Engadin confectioners had created this sweet seduction in France, but back home their fellow confectioners were faced with a problem: no walnut trees grew in the Engadin! A delicious workaround was quickly created, using aromatic Swiss stone pine seeds, which are similar to soft pine nuts and are very rich in nutrients. However, shelling the seeds from the hard cone was quite laborious (it took one person four hours to make one jar!) so only guests at special occasions could look forward to this nut cake.