· Originally from the Middle East, pistachios were considered sucha delicacy by the Queen of Sheba that she hoarded the entire Assyrian supplyfor herself and her court. The nuts were imported by American traders inthe 1880's and soon became popular. California didn't produce its firstcommercial crop of pistachios until 1976, but within 10 years the statehad become the second largest pistachio producer in the world.
· Remember when pistachios were red? The color was an attempt to hidestains on the shells of imported nuts caused by the hulls being left ontoo long after picking. Today, Western growers hull pistachios almost immediatelyafter harvesting, producing nuts with beautiful ivory shells. (A few processorsstill dye them, but only because some consumers prefer the red color.)
· Roasted, chopped pistachios are delicious tossed into a pasta salad,mixed into a tomato-based pasta sauce, scattered over glazed carrots orsweet potatoes, or sprinkled on top of vanilla ice cream drizzled with honey
·Pistachios are among the leanest nuts, with 172 calories and 15 gramsfat per ounce-78 percent of calories from fat
Deamer 12/7/96