Get to know pistachios

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Some folks take pistachios for granted _ as if they grow on trees or something.

We love them sprinkled liberally over ice cream. Shaved over salads. Toasted and chopped for a halibut crust. Packed for some crunch punch in cookies. Sunken like treasure in soups. Dusted with tangy spice rubs.

Even straight up with a drink at the game _ they can give peanuts an inferiority complex.

Well, they do grow on trees, but it took a while before that happened in California. We know because we met a man, Harry Dewey, who helped establish them here.

Dewey, 82, lives in the town of Yolo, just north of Woodland. Dewey's family has been farming the Sacramento region since the 1860s, when his great-grandfather bought 180 acres from a Spanish land grant. The Dewey family farmed the area he describes roughly as bordered by Winding Way, Rustic Road, Dewey Drive and Fair Oaks Boulevard in Fair Oaks. Dewey Drive was named after his great-grandfather, Harold Dewey.

In the 1960s, most of the original land was sold to developers. Harry and his wife, Jane, moved to Yolo where they continue to farm several nut crops, including walnuts, almonds and pistachios.

"My great-grandfather had a typical farm," said Dewey. "He had oak trees, grains and farm animals.

"My grandfather planted almonds in 1912 when the industry was just getting started. He was quite an entrepreneur. Everyone else was doing dry-land farming, but he dug a well on the highest part of the property and he put in two miles of cement pipe for irrigation. That's how he was able to grow almonds.

"Of course when he was farming, we didn't grow pistachios in California."

Pistachios are a relatively new crop to our region. They are native to the Middle East and are likely the oldest cultivated nut tree in history. Archaeological evidence shows traces of pistachios as far back as 7,000 B.C.

"Their natural climate is Mediterranean," said Dewey. "They need low humidity, which is why they grow so well here."

A few trees were planted in California as an experiment in the early 1930s, but up until 1979 nearly all of the commercial pistachios were imported from Iran.

"President Jimmy Carter imposed an embargo on Iran," said Dewey. "So there was a shortage. (The) University of California had been experimenting with varieties that would grow here. I had 10 acres of walnut trees that I planned to remove because they had been planted too close together.

"I offered to plant pistachios for UC to find out if it was a viable crop for our area. They did really well. That's really how we began growing pistachios in Northern California."

The first commercial pistachio crop was grown in California in 1976 and it produced 1.5 million pounds of nuts. Last year, the California crop produced 400 million pounds.

"It takes about five or six years for a tree to produce a good crop," Dewey said. Today he has about 30 acres planted in pistachios, with about 100 trees per acre.

Many of us have probably driven through pistachio orchards and thought we were looking at fruit trees. The nuts grow in large, grapelike clusters on trees that are no more than 30 feet tall when fully mature.

The nuts have a husk similar to an almond. Just before harvest, the husks turn shades of gold and pink. Inside each husk is a shell, and inside the shell is a plump, sweet nut.

Harvest begins in mid-September when shakers, small tractors with large tong-shaped extensions, roll into the orchards and shake the nuts right out of them.

Walking through his orchards in Yolo, Dewey gave a lesson on growing pistachios.

"The trees are wind pollinated," he said. "It takes male and female trees. In an orchard about every fourth tree is a male. They produce no nuts, they just produce pollen for the female trees."

The trees alternate between high and low production years. So, one year you have a large crop, the next year it's smaller.

Though both almond and pistachio trees are shaken during the harvest, almonds fall to the ground. Pistachios are caught in frames and not allowed to touch the ground.

"They need to be hulled and dried immediately to keep the shells from staining," Dewey said.

Nearly all the pistachios consumed in the U.S. now come from here.

Years ago, all you could find were red pistachios.

"That's because most were imported from Iran where they use ancient drying methods, which left stains on the shells. The nuts were then dyed red to hide the stains," Dewey said.

"Our nuts go immediately to the processor where the husks are removed until the nuts are dried." It keeps them fresh and clean and eliminates the need to dye the shells.

Jane and Harry Dewey run the farm with the help of one full-time employee. On Sundays and Wednesdays they load their truck with pistachios and head to farmers markets.

You can find them at the Sunday farmers market at Eighth and W streets in Sacramento and at the Wednesday farmers market at Cesar Chavez Plaza at 10th and J streets in Sacramento. Their pistachios are also sold at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op and Nugget markets.

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THE NUTS

When harvested, pistachios have hulls similar to those on almonds. The hulls, which are thick and pliable, are removed during processing. Many consumers have never seen a pistachio hull.

When you select pistachios, the shells should be split. That indicates the nut inside is mature and full of flavor. Once the shell has been removed, the nut inside is covered by a thin skin. The skin is edible, but when you use pistachios in recipes, often the skin is removed just for appearances.

To remove pistachio skins, first remove the nuts from the shells. Cover the nuts with boiling water and let them stand for two minutes. Drain the water and place the nuts in a dish towel. Rub them vigorously _ the skins will slip right off.

Toasting brings out the sweet flavors of pistachios and turns them crispy. To toast the nuts, spread them out on an ungreased baking pan and bake them for about 15 minutes at 200 degrees. When they are lightly browned, they are perfect. If you are just going to eat them, you can drizzle them with a tiny bit of melted butter and sprinkle them with spices.

Three cups of pistachios in the shell equals about 1 ½ cups of kernels when the shells are removed.

One ounce is about 49 kernels. That serving is about 160 calories, but they are nutrient-dense. An ounce has just over 3 grams of fiber, 5 grams of carbohydrates and 20 percent of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin B and phosphorus. Pistachios are low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat, which has been shown to lower blood cholesterol and possibly reduce the risk of heart disease.

To keep them fresh longer, store pistachios in an airtight container in the freezer.

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PISTACHIO WHITE CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes per batch

Makes 3 dozen

Jane Dewey is often asked for her favorite pistachio recipe and she shares this one for chunk cookies.

INGREDIENTS

1 ÂĽ cups unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark-brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup rolled oats

1 ½ cups coarsely chopped, natural pistachios, divided use

1 10-ounce package white chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugars together. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Process oats in a blender or food processor until coarsely ground.

Gradually add flour mixture and chopped oats to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in 1 cup pistachios and the package of white chocolate chips. Drop mixture by heaping teaspoon onto greased baking sheets, leaving an inch between cookies to allow for spreading. Press the remaining pistachios on tops of the cookies.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cookies cool slightly on the baking sheet until they set up. Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Per cookie: 220 cal.; 3 g pro.; 26 g carb.; 12 g fat (6 sat., 5 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 31 mg chol.; 121 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 17 g sugar; 48 percent calories from fat.

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PISTACHIO HARVEST CAKE

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Serves 16

This spice cake combines all the flavors we associate with the fall season. The recipe is from the Western Pistachio Association in Fresno.

INGREDIENTS

Cake

1 ½ cups vegetable oil

2 cups brown sugar (packed)

4 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrots

4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

4 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup natural California pistachios, finely chopped, divided use

2 8-ounce containers of pineapple yogurt

Icing

1 cup softened butter

5 cups powdered sugar

1 ½ teaspoons grated orange peel

3 to 4 tablespoons orange juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Cake: Mix oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and carrots in large bowl. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and Âľ cup pistachios. Mix portions of dry mixture (about 1/3 at a time) into egg mixture alternately with yogurt.

Turn into greased and floured 14-cup bundt pan or crown ring mold. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a pick inserted into cake comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan, then loosen top edges and gently invert from pan onto wire rack. When cake is completely cool, spread icing on top and decorate with remaining ÂĽ cup pistachios.

Icing: Beat 1 cup softened butter or margarine with 5 cups unsifted powdered sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons grated orange peel and 3 to 4 tablespoons orange juice (or enough to make a good spreadable consistency). Makes 3 cups icing.

Per serving: 729 cal.; 8 g pro.; 92 g carb.; 37 g fat (11 sat., 12 monounsat., 14 polyunsat.); 86 mg chol.; 430 mg sod.; 2 g fiber; 64 g sugar; 46 percent calories from fat.

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PUMPKIN PISTACHIO SOUP WITH LEMON GRASS

Lemon grass, pistachios and chili bring a kick to pumpkin soup, which also can be made using butternut squash.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 4

Pistachios add a whole new dimension to pumpkin soup. This recipe is from the Western Pistachio Association in Fresno.

INGREDIENTS

1 small, fresh red chili

3 tablespoons sugar

1 ÂĽ cup whole, shelled California pistachios

1 ½ pounds seeded fresh pumpkin or butternut squash

2 shallots

2 stalks lemon grass (available in large supermarkets or Asian specialty stores)

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

3 cups vegetable stock

ÂĽ teaspoon ground white pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

6 tablespoons light sour cream or creme fraîche

Fresh cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

Seed and finely chop chili. Melt sugar over low heat in skillet until it is a light-brown caramel color. Add chili and pistachios, and stir to coat.

Turn mixture out of pan onto foil or wax paper and let cool.

Pare pumpkin or squash and cut into cubes. Peel and chop shallots. Cut lemon grass into 4-inch lengths. Melt butter in large saucepan, add shallots and lemon grass, cover and cook 1 minute. Add cubed pumpkin or squash, stock, pepper and cloves.

Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender. Discard lemon grass. Puree pumpkin mixture in food processor or electric blender. Return to saucepan. Whisk in sour cream, heat gently then pour into wide soup bowls. Top with cilantro and caramelized pistachios.

Per serving: 391 cal.; 13 g pro.; 28 g carb.; 25 g fat (6 sat., 14 monounsat., 3 polyunsat., 2 other); 15 mg chol.; 773 mg sod.; 6 g fiber; 22 g sugar; 53 percent calories from fat.

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SAVORY PISTACHIO MEATBALL APPETIZERS

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

Makes 3 dozen

This recipe can be made as an appetizer or a main dish. For a main dish, serve the meatballs over steamed rice. This recipe is from Western Pistachio Association in Fresno.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground pork or mild pork sausage

1 ½ tablespoons chopped green onion

1/3 cup natural California pistachios, chopped

1 tablespoon sherry

1 egg, lightly beaten

½ cup soft bread crumbs

1 cup apricot-pineapple preserves

1/3 cup regular barbecue sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine pork, green onion, pistachios, sherry, egg and crumbs; blend well. Lightly shape into balls 1 inch in diameter.

Place in 15-by-10-inch baking pan with sides. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Drain excess fat and transfer meatballs to a serving dish or chafing dish. Combine apricot-pineapple preserves and barbecue sauce; heat to boiling. Pour over meatballs. Serve with toothpicks.

Per meatball: 76 cal.; 4 g pro.; 7 g carb.; 3 g fat (1 sat., 2 monounsat., 0 polyunsat.); 18 mg chol.; 46 mg sod.; 0 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 41 percent calories from fat.

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CALIFORNIA PISTACHIO-STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Makes 20 appetizers

This recipe is from the Western Pistachio Association in Fresno.

INGREDIENTS

20 medium mushrooms

3 tablespoons minced onion

½ cup butter

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs

ÂĽ cup natural California pistachios, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

ÂĽ teaspoon marjoram, crushed

ÂĽ teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Remove stems from mushrooms; finely chop stems. Saute stems and onion in ÂĽ cup butter until tender. Add bread crumbs, pistachios, parsley, marjoram and salt. Mix well. Spoon stuffing into mushroom caps.

Place on baking sheet, stuffing side up. Drizzle with remaining butter, melted. Bake at 350 degrees 5 minutes or until hot.

Per mushroom: 62 cal.; 1 g pro.; 3 g carb.; 5 g fat (3 sat., 2 monounsat., 0 polyunsat.); 12 mg chol.; 46 mg sod.; 0 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 77 percent calories from fat.

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© 2008, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.).