Posted on 04/16/2021 4:52:07 PM PDT by SamAdams76
I remember vending machines, like gumball machines, that dispensed pistachios in bars.
Years later, I saw them in a store in their natural color. I got hooked on eating them once again. Although I chipped a few teeth cracking the ones that were not completely open. Eventually I learned you could pry them open with the half-shell of another one. As for the ones that are totally closed, I don't bother with them.
The disappearance of red-dyed pistachios can be directly traced to the growth of domestic pistachio production in the United States.
I have always wondered about that.
I recall getting red pistachios from a machine.
Twenty Five Cents in the slot would give you a handful of the red dyed nuts.
I always presumed the dying stopped because of popular fears about Red Dye #2. This was used on apples, in candy and on some meats. Plus, we lost all of our colored toilet tissue in the late 80’s as well! Now, nothing but government approved flat white for all.
Like the tuna of old with porpoise, the red ones tasted better.
I love pistachios, They used to call them “Indian nuts” (a bit of racisn here )... I remember the red dye being all over my little girl fingers.. I have seen the red ones as recently as a year ago ..
My late dad’s favorite snack
I love pistachios. I only buy the ones with the hulls because I would gorge myself otherwise.
Pistachios make a good pesto.
I just saw them on the reality TV culinery competition show, “Chopped”, where the contestants had to integrate red pistachios into the final concoction.
I do NOT miss having red lips and fingertips. Not dying them works for me.
Huh! I was told that they were not edible when raw, and this was the proof they were cooked (boiled).
“Eventually I learned you could pry them open with the half-shell of another one.”
That’s brilliant! I’m glad I thought of it.
I like pistachios and I probably could have eaten thousands of them without ever thinking of this. I think this qualifies as an official “life hack”.
I will be in the minority, but if they aren’t red they don’t taste the same.
Cancelled by blue pistachios, the racist nuts...
Remember red pistachios? In the 1930’s, the pistachios were first dyed red to attract attention, as well as to hide the stains from traditional harvesting methods.Prior to the 1970’s, the United States imported its pistachios from the Middle East and Asia. Due to antiquated harvesting methods, nut shells were often left with ugly stains and splotches. Foreign pistachio producers dyed the pistachios with a bright red color in an effort to hide the stains and make the nuts more appealing to consumers.
Red pistachios became scarce by the 1980’s because of a limit on pistachio imports from the Middle East, and a huge increase in American grown pistachios produced through advanced harvesting methods. There was no longer a need to dye the pistachios red because they no longer had unappetizing stains
I loved the salty taste of the old red pistachios. They were great but then the anti-salters went after them. Pistachios still taste good but not as good as they were in the 1950’s.
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