a brief HISTORY OF
PISTACHIOS
by Philip McIntosh
If you ’ re feeling snacky , pistachios are about as healthy a food as you can get . You ’ ll also be crunching on about 8,000 years of snack-time history .
There are quite a few kinds of edible tree nuts in the world . They are appreciated for their crunchy texture and savory flavor . But when it comes to nuts , it would be hard to find a more popular and nutritious one than the pistachio . Pistachio trees are members of the Anacardiaceae , the cashew family . The species known as Pistacia vera was first described and named scientifically by Linnaeus in the 18th century . There are about 20 members of the genus Pistacia , many of which produce small edible fruit .
The pistachio is adapted to dry climates with long hot summers , like in its native range of Iran and regions to the east . They tolerate relatively poor soils , especially ones high in salt . Pistachios can withstand temperatures from well below freezing to more than 113 ° F ( 45 ° C ) but do not do well in high humidity . They are of medium height ( about 30 feet ) and can live up to 300 years . The seed is what people are after when they want a pistachio . Technically a drupe , the pistachio nut has a hard outer shell with a purplish colored skin covering a light green flesh . The seeds exhibit a characteristic called dehiscence , which means the shell rapidly cracks open of its own accord when ripe . This trait has been selected for in the cultivated variety . Have you ever seen pistachios with red shells ? They are not as common as they used to be , but pistachios are sometimes dyed to make the shells more uniform in appearance and hide stains resulting from hand-picking , though not much hand picking goes on in pistachio orchards these days . Pistachios go way back to long before Linnaeus got involved . Genetic analysis of both cultivated and wild population suggests pistachios were domesticated by humans about 8,000 years ago . There are many mentions of the tree throughout historical literature . Nutrition-wise , the pistachio can legitimately lay claim to being a super food . One ounce ( about 28 grams ) of unsalted and shelled nuts contains , on average , about 165 calories , 13 grams of fat , 6 grams of protein , 3 grams of fiber , and 8 grams of carbohydrates . With all that fat , pistachios ( like other nuts ) are not a low-calorie food , but compared to other nuts , pistachios rate on the low end of the fat scale with the majority being mono- and polyunsaturated . In 2003 the pistachio was specifically mentioned in the first qualified health claim for a seed approved by the U . S . Food and Drug Administration : “ Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces ( 42.5g ) per day of most nuts , such as pistachios , as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease .” Not only that , but a good-sized serving of pistachios ( 100 grams , which is a couple hundred pistachios ) contains more than 10 percent of the USDA minimum daily requirement of 14 essential vitamins and minerals including vitamins E and K , B vitamins , calcium , magnesium , iron , manganese , phosphorus , potassium , and zinc . Being a plant product , there is zero percent cholesterol . Even if you decide that wolfing down a couple hundred is overkill , you ’ ll still get a good dose of nutrition from a handful . The nuts make for a handy snack but there is pistachio ice cream of course , and pistachio butter . Ground or chopped pistachios often find their way into baked goods or confections .
The high-fat content of pistachios is attractive to microbes , so they don ’ t store all that well . And , since the shells crack open to expose the seed , there is a risk of contamination by aflatoxin producing fungi from the genus Aspergillus . Aflatoxin is a potent carcinogen . Pistachios are often found to have aflatoxin concentrations higher than just about any other food . Some producing countries do not have a legal limit for aflatoxin in pistachios but the U . S ., the world ’ s largest producer , does . In the U . S ., all pistachios for internal consumption or export are tested for aflatoxin .
40 Maximum Yield