# Pistachio ice cream and muffins are always green? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 10, 2005, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721 "2005-06-10T10:12:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gyromatical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@gyromatical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyromatical)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721/1 "2005-06-10T10:12:47Z")
Dyeing the red shells of Pistachios somewhat makes sense: to cover thier blemishes… but green ice cream, cakes and muffins? This one is confusing! What is the relation between green food coloring and pistachio nuts? Is this yet another attempt to mask the pistachio’s ugliness, or is the ice cream dyed green to counteract the pistacios feelings of being dyed red, since green is the opposite of red? Hmm… ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721/2 "2005-06-10T10:35:18Z")
Red? Never seen that. Here the outer shell is a kinda creamish colour but the nuts ‘skin’ has a greenish tinge. Pistachio is not common as a flavour here, in fact the nuts themselves are new-ish (the last 5 yrs maybe) but I can understand green way before I can understand red. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721/3 "2005-06-10T10:39:01Z")
Pistachio nuts (the nut itself, not the skin which is brown, or the shell, which is beigie) are green. Actually, they’re bright green. Buy a packet of pisctachios in their shells, peel them and you’ll see. No colouring is required, that’s the actual colour you get when you crush them up. I’ve made pistachio cake from scratch, and it came out green, without the addition of any colouring agents! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721/4 "2005-06-10T11:31:05Z")
I’m pretty sure Ben & Jerry’s _Pistachio Pistachio_ isn’t bright green, more cream colored with a greenish tint. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721/5 "2005-06-10T11:37:15Z")
[Pistachios](http://photos1.blogger.com/img/84/1050/640/IMG_3423.jpg). Green they are. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721/6 "2005-06-10T11:40:08Z")
Somewhere I’ve got a recipe for Pistachio Chicken Korma. Very nice, very rich, and _very_ green! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721/7 "2005-06-10T12:19:04Z")
Here seems to be a good place to ask this: Does anyone else think that pistachios are sort of ‘cheesy’ tasting? (I do) ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721/8 "2005-06-10T12:51:14Z")
1. **Mangetout** – “cheesy” in the sense of rich? I never thought of it that way, but I love cheese and I love pistachios, maybe there’s a connection… 2. **An Arky** – Yes, Ben & Jerry’s “Pistachio Pistachio” isn’t green. The ice cream part of it is the color of vanilla ice icream, and the pistachios themselves have a hint of natural green in them. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721/9 "2005-06-10T13:32:43Z")
Dunno - I’ve just always thought of them as having a dairy-like flavour and mouthfeel to them - together with the generally savoury flavour, it always suggests cheese to me. I wonder what pistachio nut butter would be like. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pistachio-ice-cream-and-muffins-are-always-green/307721/10 "2005-06-10T16:23:12Z")
**calm kiwi** - Red pistachios are a nostalgic throwback to a time when somebody got the bright idea of dying the nuts red to conceal blemishes they developed in handling and shipping. We now know how to handle them without making them look awful, and more importantly, grow them locally so a multi-month ocean crossing is no longer needed. The reds are still sold, but the natural nuts are overwhelmingly more popular now since there’s no red to rub off on your fingers.