Pistachio

What is it?

The salt is the part worth noticing. Pistachios here are roasted and salted before they go in, so the nuts arrive savory against a sweet base instead of blending into it. That matters because pistachio is the most imitated flavor in the freezer. The real nut is mild, faintly savory and a dull green-brown, nothing like the bright green almond-flavored version sold as pistachio in a lot of places. It's also awkward to work with. Pistachio carries less oil than an almond or a hazelnut, so there's less fat to move its flavor through a mix, and the color fades instead of deepening once it's ground. Salted whole nuts sidestep both problems by keeping the nut out of the base.