Turkish pistachio is the fruit of a small tree from the gum tree family, growing in Central Asia and the Middle East. Turkish pistachios considered to be “functional food”, as contain components that can meet the basic food requirements of the human body, and have positive effects on body physiology and metabolic functions.
You can find the best Turkish pistachios at a Turkish city called Gaziantep from which the Pistachio’s original name, “antep fıstığı” comes.
Turkish Pistachio Varieties
Turkey is a major producer of pistachios, ranking third in worldwide production after Iran and the United States. The Turkish pistachio nuts are a bit smaller than other varieties and they are similar to Iranian Pistachios in terms of flavor and quality. In general Turkey produces two types of pistachios: Antep, which are the small, slim ones in brown shells from the area around Gaziantep in western Turkey, and round, fatter nuts with pale beige shells from Siirt, in eastern Turkey, not far from the border with Iraq.
Turkish Antep Pistachios have a unique, distinctive flavor and can be used for a natural sugar-free, sodium-free snack, rich in protein, vitamins, iron and other nutrients. The Siirt pistachios, on the other hand, have less fat compared to Antep pistachios and have a brighter kernel with bigger, pinky red grains. Collected from Siirt region of Turkey, the motherland of these pistachios, Siirt pistachios are all natural and do not contain any cholesterol.