Finally Some Good News: In 2020, There Have Been More Pistachios For Us To Eat

The Central Valley is California's most productive agricultural region, home to superstar crops like almonds and grapes. Now, thanks to the nut-loving masses, there's a new sheriff in town. According to Central Valley news source YourCentralValley.com, this year's pistachio crop has set a new record with just over 1 billion pounds produced in the states of California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Damn, that's a lot of nuts.

How might be take advantage of this nut boom? According to American Pistachio Growers President Richard Matoian, work-from-home snacking habits are already driving record pistachio consumption. "During the height of the COVID period in March and April, we had record shipments domestically," Matoian told YourCentralValley.com. "I think people's patterns where they working, what they were eating, changed and pistachios became one of those items consumers bought a lot of."

The article also cites American Pistachio Growers Vice President of Global Marketing Judy Hirigoyen, who highlights recent research on the nutritional benefits of pistachios. According to Hirigoyen, pistachios offer complete protein like that found in animal products. They're also just really trendy, as evidenced by Wolfgang Puck's new pistachio butter featuring coconut milk and Aleppo chilis.

If you'd like to sample the goods from this years monstrous pistachio harvest, we recommend taking a page out of Puck's book. Last week, Puck held a press conference in which he sung the praises of pistachio paste, a nutritious and tasty basic that you can keep jarred in the fridge. Blend it up and slap it on crackers, fish, or poultry. Just don't let this blessed pistachio harvest go to waste.