| | If you want to store a large quantity
of nuts, it's best to put them in heavy-duty freezer bags and freeze them. Frozen,
they will keep for several months. For shorter storage you can refrigerate pistachios
for up to 4 to 6 weeks.
If pistachios stored over a long period lose their
natural crispness, you can quickly revitalize them. Just place them on a baking
sheet and heat them in the oven at 250 to 300 for 6 to 9 minutes.
If you simply
enjoy nibbling on a handful or two of pistachios a day, and are using them up
quickly, they can spend a few days sitting in a bowl on your kitchen counter without
becoming rancid. Part of the pistachio's appeal is the ritual
of gathering around a bowl of nuts and cracking them open to retrieve the emerald
treasure inside. Pistachios make an ideal snack to serve guests or to enjoy as
a between-meal nibble.
What more perfect finish to a satisfying meal could
there be than an attractive bowl of fresh pistachios. So inviting, they beckon
one to reach out, pluck a singular gem, and begin that joyful process of pulling
apart the shell, and finally tasting the rich sweetness of the nutmeat itself. Pistachios can be enjoyed whole, chopped, coarsely
ground, and finely ground.
Add a few shelled, chopped raw, unsalted pistachios
to soups and salads as a garnish, or use one or two handfuls as a main ingredient
in a salad dish.
Grind raw unsalted pistachios in an electric coffee grinder
and add them to fresh vegetable or fruit juices for a protein boost.
Add raw,
unsalted pistachios to the blender when making smoothies.
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