Pistacia vera
Pistacia vera Kerman fruits ripening
Roasted pistachio nut with shell
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Anacardiaceae
Genus:	Pistacia
Species:	P. vera
Binomial name
Pistacia vera L.

The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia (Iran and Iraq^[1][2]) which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Tunisia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan (especially in the provinces of Samangan and Badghis), and the United States, specifically in California. The tree produces an important culinary nut.

Pistacia vera often is confused with other species in the genus Pistacia that are also known as pistachio. These species can be distinguished from P. vera by their geographic distributions (in the wild) and their nuts. Their nuts are much smaller, have a strong flavor of turpentine, and have a shell that is not hard.

History[link]

Archeologists have found evidence from excavations at Jarmo in northeastern Iraq,^[1] that pistachio nuts were a common food as early as 6750 BC.^[1] The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were said to have contained pistachio trees during the reign of King Merodach-Baladan about 700 BC.^[1] The modern pistachio nut P. vera was first cultivated in Western Asia, where it has long been an important crop in cooler parts of Iran and Iraq. It appears in Dioscurides as pistakia πιστάκια, recognizable as P. vera by its comparison to pine nuts.^[3] Its cultivation spread into the Mediterranean world by way of Iran from Syria: Pliny in his Natural History asserts that pistacia, "well known among us," was one of the trees unique to Syria, and in another place, that the nut was introduced into Italy by the Roman consul in Syria, Lucius Vitellius the Elder (consul in Syria in 35 CE) and into Hispania at the same time by Flaccus Pompeius.^[4] The early sixth-century manuscript De observatione ciborum (On the observance of foods) by Anthimus implies that pistacia remained well known in Europe in Late Antiquity. The pistachio is one of two nuts mentioned in the Bible. The pistachio is mentioned only once, in Genesis 43:11, while the almond is mentioned many times.

More recently, the pistachio has been cultivated commercially in the English-speaking world, in Australia, New Mexico,^[5] and in California, where it was introduced in 1854 as a garden tree.^[6] David Fairchild of the United States Department of Agriculture introduced hardier cultivars collected in China to California in 1904 and 1905, but it was not promoted as a commercial crop until 1929.^[5][7] Walter T. Swingle's pistachios from Syria had already fruited well at Niles by 1917.^[8]

The earliest records of pistachio in English are around roughly year 1400, with the spellings "pistace" and "pistacia". The word pistachio comes from medieval Italian pistacchio, which is from classical Latin pistacium, which is from ancient Greek pistákion and pistákē, which is generally believed to be from Middle Persian, although unattested in Middle Persian. Later in Persian, the word is attested in Persian as pista. As mentioned, the tree came to the ancient Greeks from Western Asia.^[9]

Botany[link]

Habitat[link]

Pistachio is a desert plant, and is highly tolerant of saline soil. It has been reported to grow well when irrigated with water having 3,000–4,000 ppm of soluble salts.^[5] Pistachio trees are fairly hardy in the right conditions, and can survive temperatures ranging between −10 °C (14 °F) in winter and 40 °C (104 °F) in summer. They need a sunny position and well-drained soil. Pistachio trees do poorly in conditions of high humidity, and are susceptible to root rot in winter if they get too much water and the soil is not sufficiently free-draining. Long, hot summers are required for proper ripening of the fruit.

The Jylgyndy Forest Reserve, a preserve protecting the native habitat of Pistacia vera groves, is located in the Nooken District of Jalal-Abad Province of Kyrgyzstan.

Characteristics[link]

The bush grows up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall. It has deciduous pinnate leaves 10–20 centimeters (4–8 inches) long. The plants are dioecious, with separate male and female trees. The flowers are apetalous and unisexual, and borne in panicles.

The fruit is a drupe, containing an elongated seed, which is the edible portion. The seed, commonly thought of as a nut, is a culinary nut, not a botanical nut. The fruit has a hard, whitish exterior shell. The seed has a mauvish skin and light green flesh, with a distinctive flavor. When the fruit ripens, the shell changes from green to an autumnal yellow/red, and abruptly splits part way open (see photo). This is known as dehiscence, and happens with an audible pop. The splitting open is a trait that has been selected by humans.^[10] Commercial cultivars vary in how consistently they split open.

Each pistachio tree averages around 50 kg of seeds, or around 50,000, every two years.^[11]

Pistachios in shell

The shell of the pistachio is naturally a beige color, but it is sometimes dyed red or green in commercial pistachios. Originally, dye was applied by importers to hide stains on the shells caused when the nuts were picked by hand. Most pistachios are now picked by machine and the shells remain unstained, making dyeing unnecessary except to meet ingrained consumer expectations. Roasted pistachio nuts can be artificially turned red if they are marinated prior to roasting in a salt and strawberry marinade, or salt and citrus salts.

Like other members of the Anacardiaceae family (which includes poison ivy, sumac, mango, and cashew), pistachios contain urushiol, an irritant that can cause allergic reactions.^[12]

Cultivation[link]

Commercially prepared pistachios in shells

Iran, the United States and Turkey are the major producers of pistachios.^[2] The trees are planted in orchards, and take approximately seven to ten years to reach significant production. Production is alternate bearing or biennial bearing, meaning the harvest is heavier in alternate years. Peak production is reached at approximately 20 years. Trees are usually pruned to size to make the harvest easier. One male tree produces enough pollen for eight to twelve nut-bearing females. Harvesting in the United States and in Greece is often accomplished by using shaking equipment to shake the nuts off the tree. After hulling and drying, pistachios are sorted according to open mouth and closed mouth shell. Sun drying has been found to be the best method of drying.^[13] Then they are roasted or processed by special machines to produce pistachio kernels.

Pistachio nuts in and out of the shell

Pistachio trees are vulnerable to a wide variety of diseases (see List of pistachio diseases). Among these is infection by the fungus Botryosphaeria, which causes panicle and shoot blight (i.e., kills flowers and young shoots), and can damage entire pistachio orchards.

In California, almost all female pistachio trees are the cultivar "Kerman". A sprig from a mature female Kerman is grafted onto a one-year-old rootstock. Male pistachios may be a different variety.

In Greece, the cultivated type of pistachios is different. It has an almost-white shell, an excellent^{[citation needed]}, sweet taste, a red-green kernel and a little bit more close mouth shell than "Kerman" variety. Most of the production in Greece comes from the region of Almyros.

Bulk container shipments of pistachio nuts are prone to self-heating and spontaneous combustion because of their high fat and low water content.^[14]

Pistachio production (tonnes)[15][not in citation given]
Country	2005	2006	2007	2008
Iran	229 657	250 000	315 500	446 647
United States	128 367	107 955	188 696	126 100
Turkey	60 000	110 000	73 416	120 113
Syria	44 642	73 183	52 066	52 600
China	34 000	36 000	38 000	40 000
Greece	8 847	8 233	8 148	8 100
Afghanistan	2 457	2 457	3 600	2 500
Tunisia	2 000	2 700	2 500	2 500
Italy	2 719	1 024	2 782	2 000
Kyrgyzstan	300	500	800	800
Pakistan	597	632	536	773
Madagascar	210	220	230	230
Uzbekistan	300	203	200	200
Côte d'Ivoire	100	100	100	100
Morocco	50	50	50	50
Cyprus	15	12	25	24
Mexico	26	4	10	10
Mauritius	5	5	5	5
Azerbaijan	11	15	3	3

Consumption[link]

The kernels are often eaten whole, either fresh or roasted and salted, and are also used in ice cream, pistachio butter,^[16][17] pistachio paste^[18] and confections such as baklava, pistachio chocolate,^[19] pistachio halva^[20] or biscotti and cold cuts such as mortadella. Americans make pistachio salad, which includes fresh pistachios or pistachio pudding, whipped cream, and canned fruit.^[21] In July 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first qualified health claim specific to nuts lowering the risk of heart disease: "Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces (42.5g) per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease".^[22]

China is the top pistachio consumer worldwide with annual consumption of 80,000 tons, while the United States consumes 45,000 tons. Russia (with consumption of 15,000 tons) and India (with consumption of 10,000 tons) are in the third and fourth places.^[23]

Health benefits[link]

In research at Pennsylvania State University, pistachios in particular significantly reduced levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL cholesterol) while increasing antioxidant levels in the serum of volunteers.^{[24][25][26][27]} In rats, consumption of pistachios as 20% of daily caloric intake increased beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL cholesterol) without lowering LDL cholesterol, and while reducing LDL oxidation.^[28]

Consuming unsalted, dry roasted pistachios prevents any addition of unwanted fats and additional sodium in the diet that may affect cardiac health adversely and increase hypertension.

Human studies have shown that 32–63 grams per day of pistachio nut can significantly elevate plasma levels of lutein, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and gamma-tocopherol.^[27]

In December 2008, Dr. James Painter, a behavioral eating expert, professor and chair of School of Family and Consumer Sciences at Eastern Illinois University, described the Pistachio Principle. The Pistachio Principle describes methods of "fooling" one's body into eating less. One example used is that the act of shelling and eating pistachios one by one slows one's consumption, allowing one to feel full faster after having eaten less.^[29]

Recycling the shells[link]

The empty pistachio shells are useful for recycling in several ways. If unsalted, the shells need not be washed and dried before reuse, but washing is simple if that is not the case. Practical uses include as a fire starter just as kindling would be used with crumpled paper; to line the bottom of pots containing houseplants for drainage and retention of soil for up to two years; as a mulch for shrubs and plants that require acid soils; as a medium for orchids; and as an addition to a compost pile designed for wood items that take longer to decompose than leafy materials, taking up to a year for pistachio shells to decompose unless soil is added to the mix. Many craft uses for the shells include, holiday tree ornaments, jewelry, mosaics, and rattles.^[30] Research indicates that pistachio shells may be helpful in cleaning up pollution created by mercury emissions.^[31]

See also[link]

Food portal

• List of culinary nuts
• Cashew
• Pine nut

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pistachio

Look up pistachio in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pistachio Nut". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Pistacia vera
• "Pistachios benefits". Pistachios benefits. http://www.makin.gr/healtheng.html. 

Lisa Hannigan
Lisa Hannigan in Temple Bar, Dublin
Background information
Birth name	Lisa Margaret Hannigan[1]
Born	(1981-02-12) 12 February 1981 (age 31)
Origin	Kilcloon, County Meath, Republic of Ireland
Genres	Indie folk
Occupations	Musician
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Barp/ATO Records/Play It Again Sam[2]
Associated acts	Damien Rice, Vyvienne Long, Tom Osander, The Frames, Mic Christopher, David Kitt, Herbie Hancock, Paul Noonan, David Geraghty, Bell X1, The Cake Sale, Gary Lightbody,[3] Cathy Davey,[4] Jason Mraz,[5] Mick Flannery.[6][7]
Website	http://www.lisahannigan.ie/

Lisa Margaret Hannigan (born 12 February 1981) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. For several years she was a member of Damien Rice's band before beginning her solo career in 2008. To date she has released two albums: Sea Sew (2008) and Passenger (2011).

Hannigan has been the recipient of various award nominations and critical praise both in Ireland and the USA. She has performed and been associated with Cathy Davey, Mic Christopher, Mick Flannery, David Kitt and members of Snow Patrol, The Frames and Bell X1. She has performed at the Glastonbury Festival both as a solo artist and with Damien Rice.

Early life and education[link]

Hannigan was born in Dublin but grew up in Kilcloon, County Meath, Ireland.^[8] She attended primary school at Scoil Oilibhéir Naofa^[9] in Kilcloon and secondary school at The King's Hospital in Palmerstown.^[10] At the age of eighteen, she enrolled at Trinity College, Dublin, where she studied Art History.^[11]

Career[link]

2001–2007[link]

Hannigan began her six year collaboration with Damien Rice at a concert in the Temple Bar Music Centre in Dublin in early 2001.^[12][13][14] She sang on most of the tracks for Rice's 2002 album O. In 2006, she sang the lead vocal on Rice's song "9 Crimes" and performed at the Electric Picnic music festival in Stradbally, County Laois.^{[12][13][13][15]} As a member of Rice's live performance band, she contributed vocals and on occasion electric guitar, bass and drums.^[12][13]

In 2007, Hannigan left the Damien Rice band to pursue a solo career.^[14][16] “It was upsetting, but worse things have happened. For everybody it was coming to the end of its cycle.”^[15] Hannigan returned to Dublin and began her solo career.^[7][8][16] The singer later said of the split: "I suppose it was coming for a long time. I had become pretty outspoken about my frustrations at the direction the band was going in, and I'm sure he was starting to find me a pain."^[8] Rice said that their incompatible song writing styles were to blame for the inadequacies in his song "Unplayed Piano".^[17] She was comforted by members of The Magic Numbers and has not spoken to Rice since the split.^[8]

2008–2010[link]

Some of Hannigan's live recordings were made available through trading networks radio shows. These recordings included: "Willy" by Joni Mitchell, "Be My Husband" by Nina Simone (from the 1965 album Pastel Blues), "Mercedes Benz" by Janis Joplin and "Love Hurts" by Roy Orbison.^[13] Hannigan also performed live with her own band, called The Daisy Okell Quartet and contributed guest vocals to the recordings of Mic Christopher, The Frames and Herbie Hancock.^[13]

Lisa Hannigan's debut solo album, titled Sea Sew, was rehearsed in a barn in Thomastown and recorded in Dublin before being released in Ireland in September 2008.^[18] The lead single, "Lille", was made available as a free Internet download and other tracks were available for preview on her Myspace page.^[19] The sleeve featured needle-work by Hannigan.^[4][20] Some music critics called the recording one of the best Irish albums of the year.^[21][22]

Sea Sew was played on the American radio station KCRW and received favourable reviews in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times.^[8][23] The single "Lille", released in August 2008 on Irish and American radio stations.^[7] Hannigan performed at Electric Picnic 2008.^[24] Hannigan supported singer-songwriter Jason Mraz on a 42-date U.S. tour in 2008.^[5]

Also in 2008, she appeared on the charity album Even Better Than the Disco Thing and performed a duet of Mick Flannery's new song "Christmas Past" with Flannery on Tony Fenton's Christmas Special on Today FM.^[6][25] In December 2008, she made her UK solo debut at St Johns Church in London.^[26] Hannigan signed with ATO Records in the U.S., where her album was released in February 2009.^[27]

Sea Sew was nominated for the Choice Music Prize and Best Irish Album at the Meteor Music Awards in January 2009.^[28][29][30]

That same year, Hannigan appeared on the American television shows Jay Leno, The Colbert Report and was well received by their respective hosts.^[8][15][31] In 2009, Hannigan also appeared on the BBC's Later... with Jools Holland, performing her song "I Don't Know".^{[15][32][33][34]} Sea Sew rose in the UK charts following this appearance^{[citation needed]} and she performed at Glastonbury 2009 music festival and went on tour later in the year.^{[26][34][35][36]} She performed at the nomination ceremony and she was greeted by confused journalists wondering "Lisa who?".^[18]

Hannigan performed at Electric Picnic 2009^{[8][37][38][39][40][41]} and Le Chéile.^[42] Later in 2009, she toured the United States with David Gray and performed solo shows in New York, Los Angeles and London.^[43] She then began a tour of Ireland to finish the year.^[43] Hannigan's song "Ocean and Rock" was used in a 2009 Irish video supporting same-sex marriage entitled "Sinéad's Hand".^[44]

In 2009, a broadcast of Other Voices was recorded.^[45]

2011–present[link]

Hannigan recorded her second album, titled Passenger, at Bryn Derwen Studios in North Wales with producer Joe Henry and engineer Ryan Freeland. The album was released in the US and Canada on 20 September 2011, and on 7 October in Ireland and the UK.^[46][47]

Hannigan performed at the Eurosonic Festival in 2012 when Ireland was the "Spotlight Country".^[48]

Reception[link]

Her music has received critical praise, airplay and award nominations both in her native Ireland and the United States. In 2008, her debut album Sea Sew spawned the single "Lille", a Choice Music Prize nomination, two Meteor Music Awards nominations and a Mercury Prize nomination. There has also been praise from fellow musicians and, in recent times, Jools Holland of the United Kingdom and US television hosts Jay Leno and Stephen Colbert.

Hannigan performs using "broken-down, wheezy old instruments", assisting her band members in the transportation of this equipment. Her blog posts are noted for containing recipes for baking cakes.^[15] Herbie Hancock said of her vocals, "there's so much jazz in the notes and phrases that she picks. She was singing the ninths, the elevenths of the chords...I mean some of the things sound like choices that Miles would have made." Possibilities DVD.^[13]

To date,^[when?] Sea Sew has sold 45,000 copies worldwide – with 15,000 of those copies sold in Ireland.

Personal life[link]

As part of an advertisement campaign for Oxfam's Make Trade Fair, Hannigan was drenched in melted chocolate and she participated in the Irish musical collective The Cake Sale with lead vocal on the track Some Surprise, which was played on the US television series Grey's Anatomy.^{[3][12][13][16][49][50]}

Hannigan also contributed to the 2009 charity album, Sparks n' Mind, released in aid of Aware.^[51]

Discography[link]

• Sea Sew (2008)
• Passenger (2011)

Awards[link]

[edit] Hot Press Readers' Poll

Hannigan has four Hot Press Readers' Poll awards. She won Best Debut Album, Best Irish Album, Best Irish Track and Best Female in 2009.^[26]

Choice Music Prize[link]

Hannigan's debut album, Sea Sew, was nominated for the Choice Music Prize in January 2009.^[52] The award was won by Jape for the album Ritual on 4 March 2009.^{[53][54][55][56][57][58][59]}

Hannigan's second album, Passenger, was nominated for the Choice Music Prize in January 2012.^[60]

Meteor Music Awards[link]

Hannigan and her work was nominated in the Best Irish Female and Best Irish Album categories at the Meteor Music Awards in 2009.^[61] She was the only solo artist nominated in more than one category at the awards. She lost to Imelda May and The Script's self-titled album respectively.^[62]

Mercury Prize[link]

Sea Sew was nominated for the Mercury Prize on 21 July 2009.^{[63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70]} It was Hannigan's first nomination.

Hannigan was referred to as 2009's "token folk nominee" in the UK,^[16] with the NME calling her a "token folkie".^[71] One British journalist even claimed she was "truly obscure" and part of the "moribund sensitive singer-songwriter genre".^[16] Ed Power, writing in the Irish Independent, criticised such claims, wondering if Jape (whose album Ritual beat Hannigan to the Choice Music Prize) had come close to receiving a Mercury nomination—"Or, for that matter, how many of the judges had even heard of him".^[16]

See also[link]

Side projects of Lisa Hannigan

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Official biography
• Lisa Hannigan Refined an unofficial website
• Lisa Hannigan on Other Voices
• Lisa Hannigan interview on LAist
• Lisa Hannigan at Eskimo Friends, a Damien Rice site
• Lisa Hannigan Review Fazer.ca March 2009
• Mercury nomination photos at the Irish Independent