The pistachio (Pistacia vera L., Anacardiaceae; sometimes placed in Pistaciaceae) is a small tree up to 10 meters (30 ft.) tall,
The pistachio (Pistacia vera L., Anacardiaceae; sometimes placed inPistaciaceae) is a small tree up to 10 meters (30 ft.) tall, native tomountainous regions of Iran, Turkmenistan and western Afghanistan. Ithas deciduous pinnate leaves 1020 centimeters (4-8 in.) long.The plants are dioecious, with separate male and female trees. Theflowers are apetalous and unisexual, and borne in panicles. The fruitis a drupe, containing an elongated seed (a nut in the culinary sense,but not a true botanical nut) with a hard, whitish shell and a strikingkernel which has a mauvish skin and light green flesh, with adistinctive flavour.When the fruit ripens, the husk changes from green to an autumnalyellow/red and the shells split partially open (see photo). This isknown as dehiscence, and happens with an audible pop.Each pistachio nut weighs around 1 gram,[citation needed] and eachpistachio tree averages around 50 kg of nuts, or around 50,000, everytwo years.[1] Pistachios (as part of the pistacia genus) have existedfor about 80 million yearsPistachio is often confused with some of the other nine species in thegenus Pistacia, such as P. terebinthus and P. lentiscus. These specieshave a very different distribution, in the Mediterranean and southwestAsia, and have much smaller nuts, lacking the hard shell of P. vera.Their turpentine-flavoured nuts were a popular food in antiquity. Findsof Pistacia from pre-classical archaeological sites, or references inpre-classical texts, always refer to one of these other species (oftenP. terebinthus).Pistachio (in the sense of P. vera) was first cultivated in WesternAsia. It reached the Mediterranean world by way of central Iran, whereit has long been an important crop. Although known to the Romans, thepistachio nut appears not to have reached the Mediterranean or most ofthe Near East in any quantity before medieval times. More recentlypistachio has been cultivated in California (first commercial harvestin 1976) and Australia. The word pistachio is a Persian loanword,coming into English through Italian, and is a cognate to the ModernPersian word Peste'.Pistachio Nuts in and out of the shellThe kernels are often eaten whole, either fresh or roasted and salted,and are also used in ice cream and confections such as baklava. In July2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the firstqualified health claim specific to nuts lowering the risk of heartdisease: "Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating1.5 ounces (42.5g) per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as part ofa diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk ofheart disease".[3]In research at Pennsylvania State University, pistachios in particularsignificantly reduced levels of Low-density lipoprotein in the blood ofvolunteers.[4]On the Greek island of Chios, the husk or flesh of the pistachio fruitsurrounding the shell is cooked and preserved in syrup.[citationneeded]The shell of the pistachio is naturally a beige colour, but it issometimes dyed red or green in commercial pistachios. Originally thedye was applied by importers to hide stains on the shells caused whenthe nuts were picked by hand. However most pistachios are now picked bymachine and the shells remain unstained, making dyeing unnecessary(except that some consumers have been led to expect colouredpistachios). Roasted pistachio nuts can be artificially turned red ifthey are marinated prior to roasting in a salt and strawberry marinade,or salt and citrus salts.The trees are planted in orchards, and take approximately seven to tenyears to reach significant production. Production is alternate bearingor biennial bearing, meaning the harvest is heavier in alternate years.Peak production is reached at approximately 20 years. Trees are usuallypruned to size to make the harvest easier. One male tree producesenough pollen for eight to twelve nut-bearing females. Pistachioorchards can be damaged by the fungal disease Botryosphaeria panicleand shoot blight, which kills the flowers and young shoots.Pistachio trees are fairly hardy in the right conditions, and cansurvive temperature ranges between 10°C (14°F) in winter to 40°C(104°F) in summer. They need a sunny position and well-drained soil.Pistachio trees do poorly in conditions of high humidity, and aresusceptible to root rot in winter if they get too much water and thesoil is not sufficiently free draining. Long hot summers are requiredfor proper ripening of the fruit.Bulk container shipments of pistachio nuts are prone to self heatingand spontaneous combustion because of their high fat and low watercontent.
|
Type:
Pistachio Nut
|
Style:
Fresh
|
Place of Origin:
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
|
|
Brand Name:
akbari
|
Shape:
Long
|
Type:
In Shell
|
|
Processing:
Fresh
|