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We’re the last to make light of Fundamentalist Islam, but we do have better pistachios for it.
Prior to the overthrow of the Shah of Iran in 1979, there was no pistachio industry in the U.S. A series of political events ensued, beginning with the fundamentalist Islamic revolution of the Ayatollah Khomeini that ousted Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.
It was followed by the Iran Hostage Crisis, in which the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was stormed and 66 hostages were taken.
This led to a U.S. trade embargo against Iran. Since a majority of the pistachios eaten by Americans were imported from Iran, California farmers saw the opportunity to plant the crop.
> Check out the history of pistachios, below.
> Also below, the year’s pistachio holidays.
> Pistachio recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
Then go nuts and celebrate one of mankind’s oldest cultivated crops.
CALIFORNIA IS THE PISTACHIO KING
A better pistachio resulted, since the U.S. has the benefit of more modern farming methods. When there are delays in processing the harvested nuts, the white shells begin to stain and blemish, which is why pistachios from the Middle East were often dyed a cover-up red*.
Our favorite pistachios come from Santa Barbara Pistachio Company. They farm organic pistachios, and sell salted and unsalted pistachios plus wonderful flavors. We buy them unshelled in plain plus Chili Lemon, Crushed Garlic, Hickory Smoked, Lemon Zing, and Salted.)
Another favorite is Setton Farms, which sells organic and conventional pistachios in Buffalo Wing, Chili Limón, Chocolate-Covered, Garlic Onion, Jalapeño, Salt and Pepper, Scorpion Pepper, Tajin, and more.
So look for California pistachios and enjoy your fill: They’re a good-for-you nut (pistachio nutrition).
Check out the history of pistachios below; then go nuts and celebrate.
PISTACHIO NUT HOLIDAYS
February 25: National Chocolate Covered Nut Day
February 26: National Pistachio Day
October 22: National Nut Day
Pistachio-Rich Foods
August 21: National Spumoni Day
August 31: National Trail Mix Day
November 17: National Baklava Day
More
The Year’s 38 Nut Holidays
PISTACHIO NUT HISTORY
Pistachio trees are native to the Middle East, in the area around Afghanistan, Iran (Persia), and Central Asia. They’ve been cultivated there for thousands of years. They are mentioned in the Old Testament (Genesis 43:11) as one of the “best products of the land,” along with balm, honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, and almonds.
Pistachios have always been considered a delicacy in the region. Legend says that pistachios were a favorite of the Queen of Sheba, who demanded all of the crops harvested in her land (present-day Yemen) for herself and her court.
Pistachios reached Greece through Alexander the Great (334-323 B.C.E.). Later, under the rule of the Roman Emperor Tiberius (14-37 C.E.), the nut was introduced into Italy and Spain.
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[1] Beautiful pistachios with charcuterie from Columbus Craft Meats.
[2] Not just for snacks and desserts, here pistachios are added to tuna salad, along with dried cranberries. The recipe (photo © Lovely Little Kitchen).
[3] Another delicious idea: Casarecce With Broccoli Rabe and Burrata. Here’s the recipe (photo © DeLallo).
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During the Persia Empire (present-day Iran), ownership of pistachio groves and trading in pistachios meant high status and riches.
Pistachios were introduced from the Near East into Italy and Spain in Roman times and became established in southern Europe and North Africa (e.g., Sicily, parts of Greece, coastal Spain, some areas of southern France).
Cultivation expanded with the spread of Islam and the resulting Arab expansion in the Middle Ages. The Venetian Republic had close trade ties with Syria, one of the main cultivation areas for the pistachio. The nuts reached Sicily, and then northern and central Italy, via the sea trade routes.
Cultivation was essentially Mediterranean. Climatically, pistachios want: Hot, dry summers and cold but not too wet winters. These conditions map well onto the Mediterranean basin, but poorly onto northern/Atlantic Europe.
Pistachios reached central Europe via Italian sales routes, over the Alpine passes. North of the Alps they could not become a serious orchard crop.
They were imported and used mainly as a luxury ingredient in pastries and confectionery. Wealthy people could grow small amounts in greenhouses.
Pistachios “Immigrate” To The U.S.
In 1854, seed distributor (and later, Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office) Charles Mason brought pistachio seeds to the U.S. for experimental plantings, via international seed-collection networks tied to the U.S. Patent Office and consular services.
His focus was planting in California, Texas, and other southern states that had viable climates.
However, Mason’s introductions never turned into a real industry. The trees he planted were basically curiosities and garden trees, not commercial orchards.
While growers and scientists knew pistachios might work in the American West, they didn’t yet have a reliably productive cultivar for U.S. conditions. Imported pistachios from the Middle East still dominated the [small] market for pistachios, and prices were high.
From the 1880s to early 1900s, pistachios caught on in the U.S. mainly among Middle Eastern immigrants.
For the broader population, they were sold from vending machines in train and subway stations as a novelty snack with a premium price: a dozen for a nickel!
How The U.S. Pistachio Industry Was Born
The key technical and economic shift happened in the early–mid 20th century, but only matured after World War II.
From 1929 through the 1940s the focus was on Finding the right cultivar. The USDA knew that California’s Central Valley climate looked perfect for pistachios. But they needed a variety that would bear bountifully in that specific climate, and produce attractive, reliably splitting nuts suitable for the snack trade.
In 1929, USDA botanist William E. Whitehouse went to Iran, collected about 20 pounds of pistachio seeds, and planted some 3,000 trial trees in California.
Pistachio trees are slow to bear, and after a decade of waiting for the trees to mature, only one line proved outstanding. That variety, grown near the city of Kerman, became the “Kernan” cultivar, the foundation of the U.S. industry.
Only after World War II did pistachios become affordable to enjoy as a popular snack [source].
Post World War II: Success!
After WWII several things changed. Improved global shipping and cold‑chain logistics made mass importation easier. In the U.S., economic growth and rising middle‑class incomes made “luxury snacks” more accessible. Industrial food processing (automatic shellers, sorters, roasters) brought economies of scale and more consistent quality, which encouraged wider distribution and sales.
In the 1960s, large‑scale planting of Kerman orchards began in the San Joaquin Valley, and several economic and political shifts drove down the cost:
Tax changes in 1969/1971 made other tree crops (like almonds and citrus) less attractive but left pistachios relatively favored, encouraging farmers toward growing them.
The Shah of Iran’s domestic programs (e.g., adding pistachios to school breakfasts), the Iranian Revolution (1979), and U.S. trade embargoes sharply limited Iranian exports and pushed up global prices.
These engendered a huge incentive for U.S. growers to fill the gap in pistachios, both domestic and worldwide.
The first major commercial California crop came in 1976; from there, acreage and yields exploded. The price came down so that pistachio nuts became a popular snack.
Size Of The Pistachio Market
For 2024/25, the USDA puts total world pistachio production around 1.0 million metric tons in‑shell (1,003,751 tons).
In the U.S., United States (California almost entirely), 2024/25 production was about 474,000 tons in‑shell, or 47% of global production.
Turkey produced about 250,000 tons, or 25% of global production.
Iran produced about 190,000 tons, or 19% of global production.
Syria produced about 69,000 tons, or 7% of global production.
Rest of world (EU, North Africa, Central Asia, etc.) counts for the remaining 3%–5% of global production.
Thanks to American Pistachio Growers, Atlas Obscura, and Jerry James Jones, West Coast Nut and Wikipedia for much of this information.
THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD “PISTACHIO”
Many linguists think the word originated in an ancient Old Persian/Semitic language (e.g., Aramaic or a related dialect) and was then borrowed into Old Persian and Greek. However, the exact pre‑Persian form is uncertain. Here’s what we do know:
Old Persian: “pesteh” passed through Greek and Latin into the modern European languages. Middle Persian pstk evolved into New Persian pesteh.
Greek: Pistákion / pistákē, the word for the nut, was borrowed from pesteh. Pistachio tree became pistákē.
Latin: Pistācium derived from the Ancient Greek pistákion or pistákeia).
Italian and French: The word for the nut became pistacchio (Italian) and pistache (French).
English: Pistachio is a re-spelling of pistacchio. The first noted English usage is recorded from the 16th century.
[4] A pistachio grove with a close-up on growing nuts (photo © American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers).
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*Later, pistachios were dyed red to stand out in vending machines. Today, some pistachios are still dyed red for marketing purposes.
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