From Pistacia to Pistachio

It's literally everywhere. Even I, a provincial who until recently hadn't tried a Lotus biscuit, have noticed that there's a new flavour that's dethroned it and is now reigning supreme in terms of ubiquity and overwhelming capacity to bore: the pistachio. It's almost impossible today to visit a restaurant, bakery, or supermarket without encountering some example—or several, or many—of the current pistachio craze.

Now, pistachios are found in chocolate bars, croissants, cheesecakes, mortadella, countless ice creams, Christmas nougats, salads, sauces, and even perfumes, but I didn't expect to find them in newspaper headlines too. "Pistachio frenzy: the millionaire figures behind the trendy nut," says one. "Pistachio supplies are running out worldwide," reads another. Both are from this past May, as well as "Pistachio, the new green gold revolutionising gastronomy and agriculture in Spain," "The health benefits of pistachios," "Why has pistachio run out in Aragon?" or "Castilla-La Mancha emerges as the fourth largest pistachio area in the world." And that's just to name a few.

Although the trend had been gaining momentum for some time, it seems the reason demand and prices for this nut have skyrocketed in recent months is something called "Dubai chocolate." This pistachio and kadayif-filled bar (very crispy filo pastry strands) invented by an Emirati company went viral last year on those 21st-century courtyards, TikTok and Instagram. As we are so eager not to miss out on what others are trying, clones and poor imitations of this Dubai chocolate have multiplied to such an extent that they've caused a global pistachio supply crisis.

The fruit of the Pistacia vera is experiencing its own gold rush, and the reasons for its dazzling success range from pure cyber-following, its striking green colour—which it shares, by the way, with other "phenomenon" ingredients like avocado or matcha tea—its recognised health benefits, and its pleasant taste, but what we can't attribute it to is its supposed novelty. The pistachio, dear readers, is older than the hills and has not only been a staple in food stores for decades but can boast a long history in our country.

If you search the old RAE dictionaries, you might discover that the word "pistachio" was first recorded in 1803 and assume that the consumption of this nut began shortly before that date. In fact, the current Spanish Language Dictionary indicates that "pistachio" is an adaptation into Spanish from the French pistache or Italian pistacchio, as if we had to adopt a foreign term for something unknown in our country.

That impression is misleading: what really happened was that at the end of the 18th century, it became fashionable among the pretentious to use an Italian word to refer to something that for centuries had a name as Castilian as alfóncigo. It was also known as alfónsigo, alfocigo, alhócigo, alhostigo, or fístigo, words that, although it may not seem so, share an etymological root with the now undisputed "pistachio." The old Castilian versions come from the Hispanic Arabic alfústaq, which in turn came from the classical Arabic fustuq and was originally of Iranian origin (pistaka, pistag), exactly like the Greek pistákion (the fruit) and pistákē (the plant) or the Latin pistacium.

The pistachio tree began to be cultivated in Western Asia more than 8,000 years ago, and if we trust Pliny's 'Natural History', it arrived on the Iberian Peninsula in the first century AD, brought by Pompeyo Flaco, a Hispano-Roman official who was stationed in Syria under Lucius Vitellius (father of the future emperor) around the year 35 AD. Now science knows that pistachios are rich in arginine, an amino acid with a vasodilator effect that improves erectile function, but as early as the 15th century, the Sevillian doctor Juan de Aviñón recommended eating alfócigos because they helped "give an appetite for sleeping with a woman."

They were consumed just as they are now, either alone as an appetiser or as an integral part (often the star ingredient) of numerous sweet preparations. Do you think pistachio ice cream is something modern? Well, it turns out that in 1824 a recipe book titled 'The Art of Distilling Spirits and Liqueurs' already explained how to make it, with a pinch of green colouring and all to give it grace and showiness. And in 1747, the Leonese confectioner Juan de la Mata included a dozen formulas based on alfónsigos in his 'Art of Pastry' among biscuits, marzipan, or meringue of the same. Fashions always return.