Pistachio Day

Pistachios. Steve Buissinne / Pixabay.com / 2018 / CC0 1.0

The 26th of February is the day to treat yourself to pistachios, and learn a little more about them. Many people already know that pistachios aren’t naturally red, but why are they dyed in the first place?

While learning about pistachios, you can treat yourself to them in baklava or in pistachio ice cream, or even in a savoury dish.

Recipes

Pistachio Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

The History of Pistachio Day

The French Revolutionary Calendar had a day dedicated to pistachios. Pistachio Day — “jour de la pistache” — was Sextidi 26 Brumaire. (Brumaire was the second month of autumn, occurring roughly between 22/24 October and 20/22 November.)

A newspaper in Texas notes that a National Pistachio Day was observed on 28th February 1992:

“Marfa Elementary School’s Kindergarten classes participated in a National Pistachio Day Celebration Friday.” [Ed: the previous Friday would have been 28th February 1992] ^[1]Kindergarten Students Celebrate The Pistachio. The Big Bend Sentinel. Marfa, Texas. Thursday, 5 March 1992. Page 5, col. 5.

(Click to enlarge). Kindergarten Students Celebrate The Pistachio. The Big Bend Sentinel. Marfa, Texas. Thursday, 5 March 1992. Page 5, col. 5.

The University of California Cooperative Extension has sponsored a state-wide Pistachio Day for the state of California on the third Tuesday of every January since at least 1998. It’s for pistachio growers, and is usually held at the Visalia Convention Center in Visalia, California.

In 2004, The Daily News of Jacksonville, North Carolina, informed its readers that Pistachio Day was on the 26th of February.

Jacksonville Daily News. Thursday, 26 Feb 2004, Jacksonville, North Carolina. Page 4C, Col. 5.

The earliest mention of Pistachio Day on the 26th of February that CooksInfo has found in print archives occurs in 2001. On its “Week Ahead” page, the Orlando Sentinel advises readers on the 12th of February that Pistachio Day is 14 days away. “14 Days until National Pistachio Day”. (The Week Ahead. Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. Monday, 12 February 2001. Page A3, col. 2)

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