pistachio

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pistachio
Pistacia vera, variety 'Kerman' with ripe stone fruits

Pistacia vera , variety 'Kerman' with ripe stone fruits

Systematics
Eurosiden II
Order : Sapindales (Sapindales)
Family : Sumac family (Anacardiaceae)
Subfamily : Pistacioideae
Genre : Pistachios ( Pistacia )
Type : pistachio
Scientific name
Pistacia vera
L.
Ripe fruits of Pistacia vera

The pistachio tree ( Pistacia vera) or simply pistachio is a species of plant within the sumac family (Anacardiaceae). To distinguish it from the other species of the genus pistachios ( Pistacia ) it is more precisely called real pistachio and its stone fruit pistachio .

features

The pistachio reaches heights of up to 12 meters and is up to 300 years old. In culture, however, it is kept much smaller. The roots can extend to a depth of 15 meters.

The stalked leaves are pinnate unpaired and up to 20 centimeters long. The entire, rounded to pointed or pointed, leathery leaves are up to 10 centimeters long and ovate to obovate or elliptical and usually sessile.

Pistacia vera is dioeciously separated sex ( diocesan ). Multi-flowered and paniculate inflorescences are formed. The male panicles have many more flowers than the female and they are therefore significantly larger. The greenish-brown, five-fold and unisexual flowers are without petals. The five sepals are lanceolate. The Upper constant ovary of the female flower has a stylus with a dreizüngigen scar . The male flowers have five stamens. Pollination occurs by the wind .

The fleshy, green, yellowish-reddish stone fruits are oval and about 2 centimeters in size, the 1.2 to 1.4 centimeters large stone core (nut) has a hard shell, the edible light green pistachio seeds (the cotyledons ) are pink or brownish Surrounding skin ( seed coat ).

Chromosome number

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 30.

use

history

Pistachios are among the oldest flowering crops and are native to the Middle East . Wild pistachios ( Pistacia atlantica or Pistacia khinjuk ) have been collected since the Natufia ( Epipalaeolithic ) and have been found at the archaeological site of Tell Abu Hureyra in Syria . Targeted cultivation has taken place since antiquity at the latest . Pistachios spread from the Middle East to the Mediterranean and quickly became a prized delicacy. Legend has it that the Queen of Sheba made pistachios an exclusively royal food and forbade the common people from growing them for personal consumption. The Babylonian king Nabū-kudurrī-uṣur II , known as Nebuchadnezzar, allegedly had pistachio trees planted in the hanging gardens he built .

The word “pistachio” comes from Persian پسته, DMG peste ( Arabic فستق, DMG fistaq ), which goes back to the Middle Persian pistag , and was adopted as πιστακή (and in various alternative spellings) in ancient Greek and as pistacia in Latin . The natural history of the Roman writer Pliny the Elder , according to the plant was built during the reign of Emperor Tiberius introduced by a certain Vitellius in Italy.

The pistachio was used as a dye and remedy for ailments ranging from toothache to cirrhosis of the liver . The high nutritional content and long shelf life also made the pistachio an indispensable travel item among early explorers and traders. Pistachios were carried along with almonds by travelers on the ancient Silk Road between China and the west.

Pistachios were imported to America for immigrants from the Middle East in the 1880s and have been grown there since about then. They were introduced to the rest of the United States as a snack about 50 years later.

Cultivation

Worldwide

The world's largest cultivation area is in Iran around the cities of Kerman and Rafsanjan in the southeast of the country. The second largest growing area is in California in the San Joaquin Valley . The third largest producer is Turkey . The most famous Turkish pistachios come from Gaziantep . The cultivation in the Central Asian countries is mainly for personal use. In Syria , the Aleppo region is particularly famous for its pistachios.

In Europe

Cultivation areas in Greece are the islands of Aegina , Salamina and Euboea , the places Megara on the Saronic Gulf and Almyros in Thessaly as well as the regions Phthiotis and Boiotia . The pistachios from Aegina come from their own, small-fruited, but above-average nutritious and protein-rich variety ( Pistacia vera Aegina , coll. Koilarati ) and are among the best varieties worldwide. For a long time they gave the country its name for pistachios in general ( Φιστίκι Αιγίνης : Fistiki Aiginis, German for Aegina nut, the fruit is still called colloquially today), until it was given a Protected Designation of Origin (GUB) in 1996 . The only growing area in Italy is in the Sicilian province of Catania , but the town of Bronte has become known for extremely high quality pistachios. In Spain, pistachios are mainly found in Andalusia , where organic cultivation is increasingly being sought.

Economical meaning

production

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization FAO, around 1.4 million t of pistachios were harvested worldwide in 2018 .

The largest producers were Iran (40%), the USA (38%) and Turkey (17%). The largest European manufacturers were Greece , Spain and Italy .

trade

In 2016, Iran exported 106,493 tons. In 2016 Germany imported almost 32,747 tons of pistachios, of which 17,338 tons were exported again.

harvest

Pistachios in the cracked shell, with closed and open pink skins

Pistachio trees can bear fruit for centuries, with low-yield and so-called fattening years alternating. The fruit usually develops on the tree during the month of July. Since the pistachio is dioecious, i.e. male and female flowers grow on different trees, both male and female trees must be available for fertilization or, as is often practiced in plantations, branches of a male tree must be grafted onto female trees. The pollen is carried by the wind from the male to the female flowers. In fattening years, the weather conditions are of decisive importance for the development of the fruits. Pistachio trees need about 1,000 hours at cool temperatures of 7 ° C or lower to break the dormancy of the buds (need for coolness), which is necessary for a good harvest. A mild winter or heavy rainfall during pollination can reduce the yield.

As the pistachio ripens, the skin turns pink and separates from the shell. At harvest time in September, pistachios from plantation trees are now shaken with mechanical tree shakers onto a collecting device so that they do not fall to the ground. From there they are reloaded into containers and transported to the processing plant.

processing

After arriving from the plantation, the outer shell and the pulp are first removed by rinsing with water and in the subsequent drying process. When the pistachios flow through the water, the ripe ones first sink to the bottom and are transported to the facility for processing. In contrast, unripe pistachios float to the surface and are removed. Pistachios are traditionally dried in the sun, which is mostly preferred by consumers in oriental countries. Goods for export, on the other hand, are mostly dried in processing plants, which leads to hygienically perfect goods, but can have an effect on the taste. After drying, the ripe pistachios are stored in silos. They are then processed further as required. When drying, the shell of the pistachio usually bursts open, which makes it easier to eat later. The seed skin as the protective covering of the kernel usually remains intact.

Nutritional content

Contains 100 g pistachios without shells

100 g pistachios without shells contain:
energy protein carbohydrates fat Fiber
2,428 kJ (518 kcal ) 18 g 12 g 52 g 10.6 g

 

100 g pistachios without shells contain an average of minerals and vitamins:
sodium potassium Calcium magnesium phosphorus iron zinc β-carotene Vitamin E. Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin B6 Folic acid vitamin C
5 mg 1020 mg 135 mg 160 mg 500 mg 7.5 mg 1.4 mg 150 µg 5.2 mg 0.69 mg 0.20 mg 0.25 mg 60 µg 7 mg

Up until a few years ago, pistachios, like nuts, increasingly contained pesticides as well as traces of mold and their toxic metabolic products, especially the carcinogenic and life-threatening aflatoxin . Western export countries in particular, such as the USA, therefore increased their quality assurance and food safety. Today pistachio imports into the EU are strictly checked.

health

In traditional healing systems like Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, pistachios and nuts are considered to be mildly warming, stomach-friendly foods. There is no regular use for them in scientific medicine. However, diets rich in pistachios can possibly improve blood lipid levels due to the high content of vegetable fats . Some nutritionists recommend that obese people consume pistachios, which are sold with their peel, to slow down the rate of consumption and thus extend the time to eat. This method has not yet provided evidence of effectiveness (as of 2020).

consumption

Pistachios are usually roasted and salted and both peeled and unpeeled as a snack. The taste is sweet, almond-like, at the same time strong and spicy. In the growing countries, they can also be bought fresh and unroasted in season. They have such a more delicate taste and are crunchier than roasted. They are also used in confectionery production ( Mozart balls , pralines , baklava ), for ice cream and in sausage production (e.g. mortadella ).

The shell must be opened before consumption, as only the core can be consumed. The shell and core each make up about 50% of the weight of a pistachio. In the case of commercially available packs of usually 250 g, the edible portion thus accounts for about 125 g.

Hazardous situation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN) lists the pistachio tree in the Red List of Threatened Species as Near Threatened. She cites overgrazing and excessive fruit use as reasons for the endangerment.

Individual evidence

  1. Pistacia vera at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  2. Hans Gossen : Pistachio. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XX, 2, Stuttgart 1950, Sp. 1809-1811.
  3. Zakinthinos, G. and Rouskas, D. (1995). Pistachio growing in Greece. Acta Hortic. 419, 423-425 DOI: 10.17660 / ActaHortic.1995.419.70 (English)
  4. Book "Descriptors for Pistachio (Pistacia Vera L.)", description of the pistachio plant and mention (among other things) of the variety Aegina , ISBN 978-92-9043-332-3 , International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) 1997
  5. The Surprising Home of the World's Best Pistachios , article by Katherine Lagrave at www.cntraveler.com (English), August 19, 2015
  6. The pistachio tree , on photopedia.info, Dimitrios Pergialis, August 19, 2016
  7. Pistachio trees , information and picture gallery at www.aegina.com.gr
  8. Regulation (EC) No. 1263/96 of the Commission of July 1, 1996 , Official Journal of the European Communities No. L 163 / 19-21, July 2, 1996
  9. The green gold of Sicily - When the pistachios smile , article by Heidi Driesner on www.n-tv.de, March 14, 2015
  10. Spain: Growing of organic pistachios in Andalusia is growing 66% , article on www.fruchtportal.de, January 24, 2017
  11. Crops> Pistachios. In: Official FAO production statistics for 2018. fao.org, accessed on April 4, 2020 .
  12. World's top Pistachio Producing Countries , statistics and interactive map on pistachio cultivation at www.atlasbig.com (English)
  13. Trade> Crops and livestock products> Pistachios. In: Official FAO trade statistics for 2016. fao.org, accessed April 10, 2019 .
  14. Helmut Heseker, Beate Heseker: The nutritional table . 2nd edition, Neuer Umschau Buchverlag, 2012, ISBN 978-3-86528-140-1 , p. 64 f.
  15. Sebastian Pole: Ayurvedic Medicine: The Principles of Traditional Practice . Singing Dragon, September 15, 2012, ISBN 978-1-84819-113-6, (accessed November 23, 2012).
  16. Jörg Kastner: Chinese Nutrition Therapy: Dietetics in Traditional Chinese Medicine (Tcm) . Thieme, February 28, 2009, ISBN 978-3-13-130962-4 , p. 71 (accessed November 23, 2012).
  17. MJ Sheridan, JN Cooper, M. Erario, CE Cheifetz: Pistachio nut consumption and serum lipid levels. In: Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Volume 26, Number 2, April 2007, pp. 141-148, ISSN  0731-5724 . PMID 17536125 .
  18. ^ J. Painter: The Pistachio Principle: Calorie Reduction Without Calorie Restriction. Weight Management Matters. on pistachiohealth.com.
  19. Pistacia vera in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Participants of the FFI / IUCN SSC Central Asian regional tree Red Listing workshop, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (11-13 July 2006), 2007. Accessed 27 January 2010 ..

literature

  • Matthias Beckmann: Determination of aflatoxins in pistachios. (= BgVV booklets; 1998.8). Federal Institute for Consumer Health Protection and Veterinary Medicine , Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-931675-33-5 .
  • Anke Heier: Evidence of the geographical origin of pistachios based on the stable isotope ratios . Dissertation, TU Berlin 2006 ( full text ).
  • Peter Lüdders, Herbert Wilhelm Debor: Bibliography of the international pistachio literature. (= Current literature information from fruit growing; No. 68). University library of the TU Berlin, Berlin 1977, ISBN 3-7983-0369-X .
  • Nima Nabizadeh-Araghi: On the way to the “smart region”. Regional development using the example of pistachio production in Iran. (= Terra facta; No. 2). Institute for Geography, Augsburg 2004, ISBN 3-923273-52-5 ( plus dissertation, University of Augsburg 2004).

Web links

Commons : Pistachio ( Pistacia vera )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Pistachio  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations