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Psst: Green Light the "New Green" Pistachio!
By Gerry Furth-Sides
There isn't enough history written to explain why until recently the good folks in Iran decided that the beautiful green pistachio would look much better in a coat of artificially dyed red instead of its own natural sand colored shell. Could it be that they got a good price on the leftover dye from the East Indians, who do the same sort of garish red thing with tandoori chicken everywhere but in India?
But that's what you got when you got pistachios - in the shell. Addictive Baskin-Robbins pistachio ice cream remains "pistachio almond" for good reason. Unshelled gorgeous green glinted with gold pistachios add extra crunch to Middle Eastern baklava, already over the top with honey and filo dough; to the Italian cold cut, mortadella, and to floaty pistachio French macaroons.
Then Everybody's Nuts in Lost Hills, California "gave birth" to premium pistachios in their own natural shells. Don't be put off by their ridiculously attention-getting pistachio mascot named Stach, who even has a facebook entry all his own!
Everybody's Nuts (everybodysnuts.com) went on a sampling spree with their four dandy flavors: Roasted & Salted, European Roast, Roasted No Salt, and Salt & Pepper. Trying them, along with the delicately spiced pistachios at Joan's on Third American Café (www.joans onthird.com), made me into a convert.
True, pistachios are not new. The nuts were cultivated thousands of years ago, making their way through Western Asia a millennium or so ago. Their popularity spread through the Mediterranean world by way of central Iran, where pistachios became the second most important export to oil.
Though the U.S. Department of Agriculture introduced the tree in California about 1904, and didn't promote it as a commercial crop until 1929, they first gave pistachios a commercial shove in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution. At that time, 1.5 million pounds of pistachios were harvested on 4,350 acres. By 2006 plantings topped 150,000 acres producing over 400 million pounds, making California the second largest producer of pistachios in the world.
The 30-foot pistachio tree is a desert plant, perfect for the California climate since it thrives in below freezing (14 F) to over 100 degrees in a sunny dry climate, requiring well-drained soil and long hot summers for proper ripening of the fruit. The tree can take up to 10 years to reach production levels and bears fruit every other year until it reaches its peak production after 20 years.
The pistachio is called a "drupe," meaning it contains an elongated seed, and it is this edible portion that categorizes it as a "culinary nut", rather than a "botanical." When the fruit ripens, the shell abruptly splits part way open with a sharp pop.
Pistachio crusted fish of all kinds has long been a favorite with chefs. Who wouldn't order a Warm Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce and pistachio ice cream at the Second Story restaurant in Manhattan Beach from just the description? At Cicada Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, the nut stars in an exotic Pistachio Crusted Salmon Over Shrimp Ravioli and Swiss Chard.
It is pistachios in their "natural" undyed state that is new. Once I got these little critters home and learned how to pry them open without breaking a nail (use a small, flat knife), the lush, green nuts are holiday celebration festive paired with dried deep ruby cherries in Greek Yogurt, in salads with grilled chicken or shrimp, in pasta and in homemade bread.
Try them either as a snack or use your imagination for dishes. Choose mature pistachio nuts split open at one end. Green "is good." The greener the nutmeat, the better the flavor. The pistachio's thin, edible papers can be easily removed from the nutmeats by simply covering them with boiling water and letting them stand for two minutes. Drain and cool slightly before slipping the skins off.
Shelled or unshelled nuts may be stored for 3 months in the refrigerator in an airtight container. True Californian natives, pistachios are not a good candidate for freezing.
To restore a pistachio's crispness, toast them in a 200 degree F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Pistachios are absolutely delicious and rich because they are high in fat content. But it is thankfully a "good kind of fat." The nuts have been deemed nature's super heart-healthy snack, according to a wealth of research, Pennsylvania State University studies among them. Nutrient dense, full of fiber and antioxidants, lovely green pistachios give you more bang per calories than any other nut.