The PLANT (Pistacia Vera)

A true pistacia plant can reach a height of 10 metres but is pruned to facilitate processing and harvesting. Moreover, a pistachio plant is very hardy, in fact it has a life span of a hundred years, very resistant to different climates from hot and dry to cold winter weather. 

Did you also know that pistachio plants are sexualised?
And well yes the pistachio plant has a male and a female tree, where one male tree (which does not bear fruit) serves for fertilisation and can fertilise up to 10 female trees.
The male tree in Brontese dialect is called frastucazzo or scornabecco.
Pistachio plants produce a resin that makes harvesting pistachios more complicated because it is very sticky, which the people of Bronte call 'A Colla' or in some places 'U Lumi'.

THE BRONTE D.O.P.

The Bronte d.o.p. green pistachio is now known all over the world, the d.o.p. guarantees its origin in a specific territory delimited in Bronte (CT) and guarantees the quality of the product that follows strict controls by the consortium to protect the final consumer.
Pistachio D.O.P. is also called GREEN GOLD because of its peculiarities and precious characteristics.

THE LAND

The soil where the plants grow is usually sloppy of volcanic origin.
Sciara is the typical dark grey porous stone, spewed out by the volcano Etna and arrived on its slopes by the lava flows that covered part of the Bronte area. The lava flows once cooled covered the clay soil and gave rise to the sciara stone where the 'loca' (pistachio groves) grow today.

HISTORY on land
After the lava flows, the land had lost its value and remained uncultivated and deserted. Until, however, willing farmers decided to graft the only plant that seemed to survive on this land, the pistachio plant.

The 'sciara' is one of the secrets of the Bronte pistachio, in addition to the climate and the many coincidences that make this 'fruit' unique. The pistachio groves are therefore naturally fertilised by the ashes of Etna and enhanced by the multitude of substances in which the lava soil is rich.

The FRUIT

The Bronte pistachio before harvesting on the plant looks like this in the photo.
This is the ideal colouring that indicates the correct ripeness of the pistachio inside.

The outer skin (husk) is initially greenish with reddish hues. It then turns white to pink before harvesting. The hull has a very strong smell and a soft, moist consistency, unlike the inner shell, which is very hard. The husk is then removed through pistachio processors, and then shelled or peeled according to use.

So the pistachio has 3 layers, the soft outer husk, the hard beige shell and inside the pistachio that has a very thin purple-green skin that can be removed resulting in a peeled pistachio that is a completely uniform emerald green colour.

THE PISTACHIO D.O.P. HARVEST

Harvesting takes place in cycles every two years in September after the first rains.
Harvesting is carried out exclusively and strictly by hand, because on the steep rocky terrain it is impossible to get there with agricultural vehicles or facilitating machines.
Consequently, pruning, sorting, irrigation and other processes also take place without the use of agricultural machinery. These factors make the pistachio a natural product processed by hand, and naturally also affect the cost of pistachio production.
The working tools of the pistachio nut picker are, a hat and gloves to protect his hair from the glue the plant produces, the 'sacchina' a bucket with ties/tapes that allow it to be hung over the shoulder or neck, where possible curtains are also used to be spread on the ground so as not to waste any kernels. 
The grains are collected one by one and placed inside buckets, then the buckets are dumped into larger bags or tents for sorting and drying in the sun.

PISTACHY PROPERTIES

Pistachios have so many organoleptic properties beneficial to one's health.
They are rich in fibre and fight anaemia and cholesterol, and are also a real mood food, able to reduce stress levels.

-Rich in potassium, pistachios promote vasodilation and thus combat high blood pressure.
-Contains monosaturated fats helping to fight bad cholesterol.
-Prevents the diabetes of type twodue to the presence of mineral salts.
-Contains phosphorus, which also keeps glucose in check and breaks down amino acids.
-The presence of copper in pistachios promotes iron absorption, thus counteracting the risks of anaemia
-Also present is vitamin B6, which stimulates the production of haemoglobin that oxygenates the blood and the production of myelin, a substance that presides over the exchange of information between nerve fibres in the brain.

MORE INFO

Obviously, every year we Bronte people dedicate a festive period here in Bronte to the pistachio. We are talking about the Pistachio verde di Bronte D.O.P. (Bronte Green Pistachio D.O.P.) festival held on the last weekend of September and the first of October. During these 6 days it is possible to taste the pistachio in all its forms and in a thousand different recipes from sweet to savoury. The route of the festival through the streets of the town thus becomes a gastronomic itinerary that attracts thousands and thousands of people from the neighbouring territories and even from abroad. There is no shortage of entertainment of various kinds along the streets of Corso Umberto. In short, Bronte is transformed and dresses up for the festival; we advise you not to miss it!