Did you know?
Everything you did not want to know about Pistachio’s… and more. The oldest archeological evidence was found at the Hashumite Kingdom of Jordon, north of Petra, where 40 pounds of carbonized pistachio nuts were found. They dated to 6760 B.C Almost 9,000 years ago! The recorded history, in the book of Genesis, the Sons of Jacob carried "nuts" with them to Egypt when they went to beg for food supplies from their brother Joseph, whom they had previously sold into slavery. It is believed these nuts were pistachios. The queen of Sheba is said to have monopolized the limited crop of Assyria, for herself and her court In Turkey, When the Pistachio split open slightly, they referred to them as "laughing" pistachios. When a crop of pistachios produced too many closed nuts, the Turks refer to this sorrowful occasion as "too bad, our pistachios are not laughing." Fast forward up to 1998… San Joaquin Valley, California. Using the same ancient seeds for pistachio trees, with ultra modern farming methods, in conjunction with some of the richest soil in the world. California produces the biggest most beautiful pistachios, with the LEAST AMOUNT of flavor in the world. WAIT A SECOND! Least Flavor? C’mon… your kidding…No we are not kidding. The older trees produced a much mature flavor. They also produce the least amount of tonnage per acre. Modern farming says to "rip out the trees, that are lacking in tonnage, and plant new ones". In effect, ripping out the delicate flavor that comes with age. Another Brilliant strategy that came out of the pistachios commission was, now ready for this one… to take all of the pistachios that were "not laughing", (remember this means closed), and ship them to China. Okay, got it so far, pay the Chinese to open EACH by pistachio nut by hand! That’s right! Hold on…it gets better. Ship them back to the USA, and blend these cheap, bitter, sour pistachios with good ones, so they can reduce the price to the large grocery chains and mass merchandisers. In the industry we refer to these pistachios as either, "A.O’s" (artificially opened) or "forced cracked open". The next time you see pistachios at your local grocery chain at a $1.99 per pound, you will know that they are taking good pistachios and blending in a A.O's, so they can make a good profit at $1.99 a pound.