# I love pistachios, don't you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980 "2012-09-17T16:14:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/41 "2012-09-18T03:55:31Z")
I find it astonishing that no one has quoted Abby from NCIS: Abby: “Oxycontin is twice as addictive as heroin. It’s more addictive than pistachios. (Gibbs and McGee stare at her) Well, have you ever eaten just one pistachio?” I know I havent! ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/42 "2012-09-18T05:49:43Z")
They’re green. They’re just salty enough to make you want more. When I lick out that little (salty) bit of skin out of the shell, I feel like I just ate the worm. They come undyed now so the next day you’re not advertising to the whole world what you were doing last night, unlke Cheetos, which still do. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/43 "2012-09-18T05:55:23Z")
I have several cases of Iranian pistachios here, an aquaintaince working in Iran sent them. Middle Eastern/Central Asian fruits and nuts are the best fruits and nuts, must be something about the arid climate. However I don’t really like them as much as I like cashews. The red “inner” skin is kind of tart and rough on the palette. I usually have a few before it starts to bother me and I stop. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/44 "2012-09-18T06:51:20Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Nuts are a good snack in moderation. However, it’s all too easy to shove a handful of almonds in your gob and consume 600 calories without noticing. Since pistachios have to be opened, you go slower and can’t just gulp them down unthinkingly. > > Plus, they are one of the tastiest nuts! Why did Trader Joe’s cancel the garlic-coated pistachios? WHY!? [Try these.](http://nuts.com/nuts/pistachios/garlic-onion.html) They’re very nice. As are most of the other nut offerings on that site. I love nuts. And am one I think. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/45 "2012-09-18T13:40:32Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > So it’s just like an M-16 and a 5.56 round - the only tool you need to open a pistachio is another pistachio. Even for The Dope this is a good analogy. Here I’d been surrounded by pistachio church keys the whole time and never knew it. Plus, now I’m wondering if I need to start saving my spent pistachio shells for reloading. I could make them hot! > [@Chimera](#): > > You do have a swiss army knife, right? Big knife, small knife, pistachio shell, file, can opener… ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/46 "2012-09-18T13:48:54Z")
My mother makes a pistachio dessert that she got out of a magazine c. 1973 that is out of this world. It is green. It’s basically pudding and cool whip but god is it good. My family requires her to make it at least once a year to serve on some holiday or other family-gathering occasion, although now one of my sisters has taken up the Pistachio Dessert Mantle and has made it a couple times. Basically you layer the pudding and cool whip, possibly with cream cheese, over a butter-flour crumb crust shot through with almonds. (Why not pistachios? Presumably because this was 1973.) I’ll go look for the recipe. Maybe it can be updated it to conform to 2012 food snob standards. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/47 "2012-09-18T13:50:35Z")
Well, that was easy. PISTACHIO PUDDING DESSERT 1 stick butter 1 c. flour 1 c. chopped nuts FILLING: 1 c. powdered sugar 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese 1 c. Cool Whip 2 pkgs. instant pudding 3 c. milk Mix butter, flour, and nuts; press into 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool. Mix powdered sugar, cream cheese, and Cool Whip; spread on cooled crust. Beat together pudding mix and milk until thickened. Spread on cream cheese layer and top with a layer of Cool Whip and chopped nuts. Refrigerate. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/48 "2012-09-18T13:51:10Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Any recipes? I have eaten and enjoyed pistachio pudding, but there’s got to be more. **Twice-baked Pistachios** Let pistachio sit in sunlight for two minutes. Carefully remove pistachio nut from shell. Mash pistachio. Add itty bitty bit of cheese, bacon and sour cream. Mix well, form into tiny blob and put back into shell. Bake at 125F for 30 seconds, let cool and enjoy. This receipe can be doubled, tripled, etc. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/49 "2012-09-18T14:23:59Z")
I only have one bad thing to say about pistachios. Those little devils are so addicting that I often end up with very sore fingers after cracking so many of them open. I’ve actually given myself open sores from it, and didn’t realize the pain until after I was done eating them… no other food has ever gotten me to HURT MYSELF over eating it before. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/50 "2012-09-18T14:41:28Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > This receipe can be doubled, tripled, etc. I may go wild and _quadruple_ it. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/51 "2012-09-18T16:37:20Z")
> [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > That sounds wonderful. Got a recipe? I don’t think I ever had a recipe for anything I made. It was just “follow the basic ice cream recipe and throw extra stuff in it.” Just make the vanilla recipe, grind up some pistachios and bananas to whatever consistency you want, and throw in before you churn it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/52 "2012-09-18T18:22:23Z")
> [@Lazlo Hapsburg](#): > > If I was to explain that I do not like Pistachios at all, would that be considered an inappropriate thing to do here? No. Just don’t be a jerk about it. You’ve been here for several months now and I’m sure you have a general idea of how to express a dissenting view politely. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/53 "2012-09-18T18:34:43Z")
> [@Lazlo Hapsburg](#): > > If I was to explain that I do not like Pistachios at all, would that be considered an inappropriate thing to do here? Wait a minute, I think I see what’s happened here. Which part were you eating, the flavorful nutty center or the hard, brown brittle outer shell? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/54 "2012-09-18T19:07:14Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > A tip I picked up from this board - use an already opened pistachio shell as a tool to open the tough ones. If there’s even the slightest crack, you’ll be able to wedge the tip of the shell in there and twist it open. > > So it’s just like an M-16 and a 5.56 round - the only tool you need to open a pistachio is another pistachio. This really works! I just tried it and it worked beautifully. Pistachios really are the food of the gods. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/55 "2012-09-18T23:01:17Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > …When I lick out that little (salty) bit of skin out of the shell, I feel like I just ate the worm… That’s what I was going to mention, except I like to scrape out that little husk with my front teeth. Another recipe idea using pistachios-- if you make pesto, use pistachios instead of pine nuts. Delicious! ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/56 "2012-09-18T23:29:13Z")
> [@solost](#): > > That’s what I was going to mention, except I like to scrape out that little husk with my front teeth. > > Another recipe idea using pistachios-- if you make pesto, use pistachios instead of pine nuts. Delicious! I made a small batch of parsley pistachio pesto last year and it was so good I ate it all before it even made it to the freezer. So this year I planted 5x as much parsley. My favorite: Greek yogurt (plain) drizzled with honey and sprinkled liberally with pistachios. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/57 "2012-09-18T23:58:03Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > That’s what the nail file/screwdriver on your swiss army knife is for - to pry them open from the smallest crack. > > You do have a swiss army knife, right? :dubious: The pliers on the SAK also work well, as does a Leatherman, heck, you get one of the big heavy ones, and you can use Percussive Maintenance (band name!) to open them (I.E. smash the little buggers open, this is especially satisfying to the “Inner Caveman” (yet another band name, I’m on a roll here…) Or a third way, a pair of the Sog multi-tool pliers that have those leverage-enhancing gears on the handles, pistachio vs. “compound Leverage”? CL wins! ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/58 "2012-09-19T00:06:11Z")
Oh what the heck, I may just go all the way and try a crazy experiment… Take my 20 gauge reloading press, and load up a 20 gauge shell with a light propellant load, the wad, some in the shell pistachios, crimp it down, and fire it at a hard, flat surface… It combines some of my favorite things, firearms, explosives, and food 😃 … ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/59 "2012-09-19T00:53:07Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Oh what the heck, I may just go all the way and try a crazy experiment… > > Take my 20 gauge reloading press, and load up a 20 gauge shell with a light propellant load, the wad, some in the shell pistachios, crimp it down, and fire it at a hard, flat surface… > > It combines some of my favorite things, firearms, explosives, and food 😃 … Take video, please ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980/60 "2012-09-19T01:39:10Z")
Just no accidents please. Killed by high velocity pistachios is not cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-pistachios-dont-you/634980.md?page=2)