Maritime Pines, the kind that is most common in Central Italy, have edible pine nuts. I grew up in Italy and I remember pine nuts being much more mainstream th

Maritime Pines, the kind that is most common in Central Italy, have edible pine nuts. I grew up in Italy and I remember pine nuts being much more mainstream there as a food, compared to other countries where I've lived. They are consumed both by themselves and as ingredients in various recipes (an example is Pesto sauce - the original Italian version uses pine nuts - another example is the Tuscan "torta della nonna", a type of dessert). Obviously the ancient Roman cuisine was very different compared to modern Italian food but I suspect Romans may have been eating pine nuts too.