Pistachio Butter

Name: Pistachio butter — a bright green, intensely flavoured paste of ground pistachio nuts (Pistacia vera), also sold as pistachio cream or spread, which is usually sweetened and may contain other ingredients.

Description

The pistachio is native to western Asia and the Middle East, including Iran and Turkey, and has been eaten there for thousands of years. Iran and the United States are the world's largest producers. Pistachio paste is a classic ingredient in Italian, Turkish and Middle Eastern sweets such as gelato, baklava and cakes, and the pistachios from Bronte in Sicily are especially prized for making a green cream.

Nut butters are made by grinding roasted or raw nuts into a smooth or crunchy paste, and the best are simply nuts, with perhaps a little salt. Pistachio butter is among the most expensive, since the nuts are costly and laborious to shell, and some products sold as “pistachio spread” contain a lot of sugar and oil, with only a small share of nuts.

Main nutrition value

Pistachio butter provides healthy unsaturated fat, protein, fibre, vitamin B6, potassium and the pigments lutein and zeaxanthin, which give pistachios their green colour.

How best to be consumed

Pistachio butter has a rich, savoury-sweet flavour and is used sparingly.

1. Spread on toast, pancakes or croissants, or swirl into yoghurt and ice cream.
2. Use in baking, desserts and sauces, or drizzle over fruit.
3. Choose pure pistachio butter or paste with high nut content and no added sugar if possible.
4. Check labels on “pistachio spreads,” which may be mostly sugar and oil.
5. Store in a cool place or the fridge after opening.

Overconsumption could cause…

Nut butters are nutritious but very calorie-dense, and portion size matters.

1. Weight gain from eating more than a spoonful or two a day, since a tablespoon holds well over 90 calories.
2. Added sugar, palm oil and salt in some commercial brands, so check the label.
3. Tree nut allergy, including a possible cross-reaction in people allergic to cashews, which can be severe, so anyone allergic should avoid it.

GroupsNut ButtersCashew family (Anacardiaceae)

Made fromPistachios

Related foodsCashew ButterAlmond ButterChocolate-Hazelnut SpreadHazelnut ButterMacadamia ButterMixed Nut Butter

Wikipedia — Pistachio, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistachio