Where In The World Are Pistachios?

As you all know by now, we love pistachios here at Nuttinosh. We put a whole lot of love and work into each jar of pistachio butter you see on the shelves or at the farmer’s market, and it’s hard to not be a little obsessed!

We’re a small, women-owned business operating right here in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our community here in the Twin Cities means everything to us, however it may come as no surprise that…pistachios don’t really grow in Minnesota. Our beloved northwoods are home to some of the tastiest produce in the country (we love our maple syrup, rhubarb, and apples too!), but pistachios aren’t one of them.

So, where in the world do pistachios grow?

Pistachios are native to Central Asia, growing on small trees in the area of present-day Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. They are considered more of a “desert plant”, and require long, hot, and dry summers to ripen and form fruit. While pistachio trees are relatively hardy, they don’t tolerate frozen ground soil well. Think about produce like figs, olives or grapes - pistachio trees thrive in a similar climate!

Here in the USA, pistachios thrive in the climates of California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Here at Nuttinosh, our pistachios are coming to us from California! In fact, nearly 99% of all USA-grown pistachios are from the Sunshine State.

Because pistachios are a bit particular with their climate needs, they require a lot of hands-on effort to cultivate, grow, and harvest before they end up in the packages in our pantries. Pistachio trees take approximately 4-5 years to start bearing nuts, and between 15-20 years to reach their full produce potential. It takes nearly two decades to get producing! 

Pistachios also need a LOT of tender love and care in the harvesting process. Those of us who have worked on a farm before will know, that’s a lot of work! Pistachio nuts are actually quite fragile, and are often damaged if they hit the ground. Fairly paying the hardworking people that are behind the scenes of pistachio cultivating, pruning, and harvesting is a driving reason behind pistachios’ cost.

This is in part why pistachios have a bit of a higher price tag and an almost “fancier” reputation than the standard peanut or almond - they can be a laborious ingredient, but for all the right reasons! It takes a whole lot of gears in motion to get a strong harvest, and even more gears to share that harvest all across the USA.

So, it turns out our beloved pistachios are a bit high-maintenance before they make it into our delicious pistachio butters at the farmer’s market. It’s pretty incredible to imagine the journey that a handful of nuts make! We love having the ability to show our Nuttinosh process with our audience, and it means the world to us to be able to share our love of pistachios with our local community here in Minnesota.

As always, we’re working hard at perfecting some brand new recipes that we’re so excited to share with you, and maybe some surprises…Stay tuned!

If you would like to learn more about pistachios, you can check out our list of credible sources and references for this blog:

FoodPrint. n.d. “Real Food Encyclopedia: Pistachios.” FoodPrint. GRACE Communications Foundation. https://foodprint.org/real-food/pistachios/. 

Gold Leaf Farming. n.d. “The Economics of Everyday Things - Pistachios.” Www.goldleaf.ag. Freakonomics. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://www.goldleaf.ag/blog/freakonomics-the-economics-of-everyday-things-pistachios. 

Heart of the Desert. 2020. “History of the Pistachio.” Heart of the Desert. October 19, 2020. https://www.heartofthedesert.com/history-of-the-pistachio/. 

“History | American Pistachio Growers.” n.d. Americanpistachios.org. https://americanpistachios.org/growing-and-harvesting/history. 

“Pistachios | Agricultural Marketing Resource Center.” 2023. Www.agmrc.org. Agricultural Marketing Resource Center. December 2023. https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/nuts/pistachios. 

Western Growers. 2017. “How Are Pistachios Harvested?” YouTube. August 31, 2017. https://youtu.be/JwnIf3EbXcA?si=Fai6nQT41TLF4x9Y. 

Image by Maryam Sicard.