Pistachio Nuts

Pistachio Nuts
- shelled (left) & with shells (right)

A pistachio nut is green and it is covered with a purplish skin.  It sits neatly in a hard white shell that opens slightly in a slit.  The Mandarin word for pistachio nuts is 'kai xin guo' and it is an apt description of the nut, as the word 'kai' means 'open' and the word 'xin' means 'heart'.

The nuts are usually sold in Singapore supermarkets in 1kg bags during festive periods.  At other times, smaller bags of 180g can be found although they would be pricier.

Occasionally, the slits are too small and it is difficult to remove the nuts from the shells.  At such times, insert the end of a teaspoon into the crevice, and twist the spoon.  This will usually work, but if it does not, one can always resort to a hammer...