National Pistachio Day

National Pistachio Day is on February 26th in the United States.

Pistachios are a type of culinary nut, rather than a botanical one, as they are actually a seed. The pistachio is related to the cashew.

Pistachios have been eaten for a long, long time. There are references claiming that they have been eaten since at least nine thousand years ago. The tree originated in the Middle East, but has since spread around the globe. The pistachio comes inside a distinctive shell, which is splits partially open when the seed is ripe, like a cooked mussel, when purchased.

The seed is also green in colour with a distinctive flavour. Like many culinary nuts, pistachios are used in both sweet and savoury dishes, and can be eaten as a snack, raw, roasted and with such things as salt added.

Like many nuts, pistachios contain a lot of different nutrients. They are also considered to be a hazardous product to ship, due to their tendency towards spontaneous combustion.

National Pistachio Day

January 26th is National Pistachio Day in the United States.

The pistachio tree belongs to the cashew family, and first came from the Middle east and Central Asia, but has since been spread to other countries, with the United States now being the largest producer of pistachios in the world, although the People's Republic of China is the largest consumer. The fruit of the pistachio tree, which is also called pistachio, has been consumed commonly for at least 8,000 years, but there is some evidence of it being consumed over 78,000 years ago. The pistachio was common around the Mediterranean in Roman times.

Pistachio is yet another of those tree fruits that are considered to be nuts but are not, in fact, botanical nuts, making it a culinary one, as it is actually a drupe. The seed consists of an inner kernel, which is the part which is consumed, that is surrounded by a shell. Pistachios are commonly sold, when sold separately and not as part of something else, with the kernel still in the shell, resembling cooked shellfish like mussels. The kernels are often greenish in colour.

Pistachios are eaten whole, commonly either roasted or salted, and the kernels are also used in ingredients in a wide range of other foods, most often sweet ones such as candy, ice cream and baklava. Pistachios, like most nuts, are a good source of a variety of nutrients, and may help in reducing the risk of heart disease. Also, as with many tree seeds, poorly harvested or processed pistachios may contain aflatoxin.