The life of a REAL Pistachio!

How much do you know Pistachios? Most of us love pistachios, but have you ever wondered about the process behind how it is derived?

I was fortunate enough to recently experience a ‘Virtual Pistachio Harvest Tour’ in California’s San Joaquin Valley which was beautifully curated by American Pistachio Growers (APG) and hosted by leading Hollywood Celebrity – Billy Harris.

It gave me great insights and a birds eye view into how pistachios are grown and harvested across the United States and by leading pistachio growers like Rich Kreps. It was amazing to see how much safety and precautionary measures go into ensuring that the pistachios are of high quality and adhere to high safety food standards from the time they are procured right through the entire supply chain through the producing, processing and finishing stages.

It was so wonderful to be part of this virtual event which was conducted on the occasion of an historic American Pistachio harvest, a record-breaking harvest of one-billion pounds!

And to add to all this jazz of the virtual tour, we were also part of a delightful “Cook Along” with America’s leading chef, baker, and author Nancy Silverton.

Nancy is the winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef Award in 2014 and is recognized for her role in popularizing sourdough and artisan breads world over. She was so kind enough to take us through a lovely cooking session and prepared two mouth-watering recipes using american pistachios. It was so much fun cooking live with Nancy, while she interacted with each one of us and answered our queries, sharing tips and pointers as we all cooked along.

We shared how Indians are so fond of desserts in particular and use pistachio in almost all our sweet dishes like Kheer, Burfi, Seviyan, Shrikhand, Mousse, Ladoos and Rasmalai either as toppings or to beautify and enhance the taste of the dish. We Indian go nuts for almost all nuts as it is also great as a snack along with refreshments or great as a snacking option too. The best part is that pistachios have immense health benefits but of course have to be eaten in moderation.

Health benefits:

1.       Can lower your chances for  cardiovascular disease.

2.       Pistachios contain fiber, minerals, and unsaturated fat that can help keep your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol under control.

3.       The fiber and  protein in them can help keep your tummy full for longer.

4.       The fibre also helps in aiding good bacteria in your gut.

5.       It’s a healthy, nutritious and tummy satisfying snack.

6.       Helps in losing weight.

We were happy to learn from Ms. Judy Hirigoyen, Vice President, Global Marketing of APG who mentioned that “India is a growing market for american pistachios. The volume of American pistachio exports to India is growing rapidly as more Indian consumers are becoming aware about the health benefits of these amazing nuts. Only recently, American pistachios were declared as a Complete Protein which implies that these pistachios will have the same benefits that one would typically find from animal protein sources. This we believe can result in a tremendous pistachio demand in a primarily vegetarian society like India. American pistachios are also great for Diabetics and Pre-Diabetics.”

Commenting on the session, Mr. Sumit Saran, India Representative of American Pistachio Growers said that “India does not produce any pistachios. Traditionally pistachios in India were only used for garnishing but we now see more and more consumers look towards American pistachios as a healthy, anytime snack. People are always looking at plant-based protein sources and American pistachios fit right in,” he added.

Wow so much on pistachios which I’m sure most of you didn’t know. I’m sure I’m going to add more pistachios to my diet be it as a snack option, addition to a sweet dish or as garnishing but will ensure that I buy only the American pistachios which are not only safely procured, responsibly grown but also of high quality.

Do check out https://americanpistachios.in/Virtual-Harvest-Cook-Along for more information