When cleaning out the pantry last weekend, I found a bag of pistachios shoved in the back of the cupboard! Oops! I am sure I’m not the only person who has made this mistake. But it made me wonder,
How Do I Know if my Pistachios are Bad?
Things to look for:
Mold – any mold on the nuts is a sign they should be thrown away.
Color – The pistachio nutmeat inside the shell should be yellow to green. If it is starting to turn dark brown or is an odd color, they are too old.
Bugs – Obviously!
Texture – If the nut inside the shell is withered and dried out, they are too old.
The expiration date – If they are still in the package, check the expiration date. This date is more of a “Best Before” date than a hard and fast expiration date. So if it was one month ago, they might be fine. But if it was two years ago, they are long past expired!
How to Buy Pistachios
Buying good, fresh pistachios in the first place is another way to make them last longer. You don’t want to buy old and stale ones.
Here are buying tips:
- Buying ones sitting out in a bin at the grocery store makes it challenging to know that they have been stored correctly.
- Packaged ones will give you an expiration date, eliminating much guesswork.
- Unshelled pistachios will last a little better than shelled ones.
Are Pistachios Healthy? Here’s What Experts Say | TIME
FAQ
Can I eat closed pistachios?
Can you eat sealed pistachios?
Is it safe to eat pistachios with the shell?
How do you know if pistachios have gone bad?
Are pistachios safe to eat?
Rancid pistachios aren’t necessarily unsafe to eat, but the experience isn’t pleasant. If your pistachios are rancid, throw them out. (In other words: you can eat them if you like, but I wouldn’t risk baking a pistachios cake with these.) Now, going rancid isn’t the only possible sign of spoilage. Let’s talk about others.
Can you eat pistachios on keto?
Pistachios can be eaten in small amounts in a ketogenic diet despite being one of the more carbohydrate heavy nuts. Pistachios contain about 5 grams of net carbohydrates per ounce(about 48 pistachios). Pistachios are also lower in fat compared to other nuts, clocking in at about 13 grams of fat per ounce. For these reasons, macadamia nuts are a common substitute for pistachios. They contain about 1 gram of net carbohydrate and 21 grams of healthy fats per ounce(about 11 macadamia nuts). Pistachios, in comparison, would be a more filling, lower calorie snack for individuals following a keto diet.
Do pistachios go bad?
If your pistachios have been properly stored, none of these signs of spoilage should be present. However, like most food, pistachios will eventually go bad with prolonged storage. In this case, your pistachios will slowly start to become rancid. Unfortunately, it is not usually possible to tell if pistachios are rancid simply by looking at them.
Do all pistachios open up?
Not all pistachios open up. If you’re buying unshelled pistachios, sooner or later, you’ll find a few (or a lot) nuts that only have a tiny crack or are completely sealed. That’s normal. Those not-quite-open pistachios are still okay to eat. Some popular opening strategies include: Using a nutcracker.