Pistachios

Iranian & Californian, open-shell by count per ounce

Pistachios come down to two numbers on the contract: count per ounce and open-shell percentage. Count works like almonds — 18/20 and 20/22 are the bold, expensive sizes, 21/25 and 22/24 are the mainstream, 26/28 and 30/32 are small and cheaper — with fewer nuts per ounce meaning a bigger nut. Open-shell percentage is the variable unique to this nut: the shell splits naturally as the kernel expands at maturity, and only a split nut can be eaten from the shell without a tool, so a lot at 90%+ naturally open commands a real premium over one at 75%. Closed shells are not waste — they are diverted to kernel production, where the shell is mechanically cracked and the price resets to a different market entirely. Variety carries origin: Iranian supply runs Akbari (long, the largest, top of the market), Ahmad Aghaei (long, bright shell), Kalleh Ghoochi (jumbo round) and Fandoghi (round, the volume grade); Californian supply is overwhelmingly Kerman, machine-harvested and consistently processed, and typically shows better open-shell percentages and lower aflatoxin variance than field-dried Iranian material.

Choose in-shell open when you are selling a snack the customer opens — retail packs, roasted-and-salted, HORECA bar nuts, gifting. Choose kernel when the nut disappears into something: pistachio ice cream and gelato, baklava and Middle Eastern pastry, mortadella and charcuterie, nougat and confectionery, pistachio paste and butter. Kernel is graded on its own axes — whole kernels versus splits versus pieces, and green intensity, since deep-green kernel commands a premium in ice cream and pastry where the colour is the product. Aflatoxin is the defining commercial risk on this line: pistachios are the single most frequently rejected nut at EU borders, the EU limit for direct-consumption nuts is 8 ppb B1 / 10 ppb total (stricter again where the nut goes for further processing at 12/15), and a rejected pistachio cargo at these values is a very expensive problem. We source from lots pre-screened to your destination's limit and certify at load port rather than testing on arrival. Supply ships in 10 kg and 22.68 kg vacuum cartons and nitrogen-flushed formats, container-load, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms.