Pistachio halva: manufacturer, calories, taste, benefits and harms

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

As the saying goes: "No matter how much you say "halva", it will not become sweet." But if you eat halva, you can get great pleasure. What interesting things can be said about her? Especially about such an unusual product as pistachio halva.

A trip to history

Halva is an ancient sweetness. It originates from Persia, that is, modern Iran, and the first mention of it dates back to the 5th century BC. In Russia, it appeared only in the 20th century, but it took root well and our compatriots liked it. In Persia, there was even a special profession - the craftsmen who made halva were called kanda-latch. It was not easy to prepare a delicacy, for example, you had to stretch the foamy hot mass with your bare hands. This required great skill, so halva was highly valued and could not be called everyday food.

First of all, the beauties from the harem ate halva. In addition, this sweetness served as a nutritious ration for the warriors and helped maintain strength. Is notsurprisingly - seeds and nuts contain a huge amount of fat and are quite rich in proteins. And honey, which in ancient times was used instead of sugar, is a source of fast carbohydrates, a kind of fast fuel, as well as a variety of vitamins and other useful substances. It is clear that the warriors in battle did not need dietary food, but saturated with all the nutrients that could quickly replenish their energy reserves, so the calorie content of pistachio halva was an advantage.

So different

Many people love this oriental delicacy. But not everyone knows how diverse it is. The most common in Russia are sunflower halva and more exotic tahini, made from sesame seeds. In these types of halva, especially in the second, which has a lighter shade, other nuts and seeds are added, for example, peanuts, as well as chocolate. But pistachio halva is not so often found in a supermarket or even in the market. Therefore, many are not familiar with its taste and did not even think that pistachio halva exists or with their addition.

All about pistachios

We are used to having pistachios in our menu in a s alty form, but their use is much more diverse. Pistachios grow on bushes and trees of the sumac family, which are common in the tropics and subtropics. Oddly enough, the pistachio is not a nut, but a fruit. It has a thin red shell, and inside is the seed that we are used to. It has an unusual green color for seeds and nuts. Its shade is even namedpistachio in honor of this fruit. Pistachios have other features as well. For example, their shells are always slightly open, so they are easy to peel and are sold unpeeled. They have a pleasant aroma, and oil is produced from them.

Sweet souvenir

Most often, tourists bring pistachio halva from Turkey as a hotel. This is a suitable way to please relatives and friends and share an exotic taste. Turkish pistachio halva is produced by Koska. It must be understood that this delicacy does not consist of just pistachios with sugar. The basis of the composition of pistachio halva is sesame paste and sugar, and pistachios in it are only 10%, however, they give a characteristic taste and green blotches. Customer reviews say that for our compatriots, like other Turkish sweets, this halva is too sweet.

DIY

What to do if you want to know the taste of pure pistachio halva, without other nuts and seeds? You can try to make this sweet yourself. Pistachio halva recipe requires:

• 1.5 cups uns alted roasted pistachios.
• 0, 5 cups of sugar.
• 2 tablespoons of milk.
• 3 drops of vanilla essence.
• Glass of water.
• 5 teaspoons of butter.

As you can see from the ingredients, this recipe is not suitable for fasting or vegans due to the presence of dairy products. To do without them, you can replace the butter with any vegetable oil without a strong odor.

So, to cookhomemade pistachio halva, you need to peel the nuts from the shell and soak in boiling water for half an hour. After that, you need to carefully drain the water and grind the softened nuts with a blender along with milk. Pistachio paste should be a fine-grained crumble. Then you need to put sugar there and stir. Now you need a non-stick frying pan. Melt the butter slowly on it. Nut paste is fried in butter. This process takes about 15 minutes to thicken. The paste must be constantly stirred. After frying, you can drop a drop of vanilla essence into the mixture.

Now for making halva you will need a square shape, 18x18 cm will be enough. The mass remains until it cools completely, then it is cut with a saw-knife into squares. This is how any halva is made, so you can experiment and cook sweets not only from pistachios.

Pistachio Lean Candies

And this recipe will please both lovers of natural products and those who fast. Since this sweetness consists of nuts and sweet, viscous components, it also strongly resembles halva. To prepare a treat, you will need:

• 100 g pistachios.
• 4 tablespoons of cashews.
• Half banana.
• 3 dates.

Pistachios need to be peeled and chopped together with cashews in a blender. One tablespoon of the mixture is set aside for rolling. Banana and dates should also be chopped,turned into puree. This sticky binder must be mixed with the nut butter. From the resulting mixture, you can mold round sweets or any other shape, at the discretion of the cook. Then roll in chopped nuts. As you can see, this recipe is quite simple. It is suitable for those who seek to replace sugar as much as possible with other sources of sweetness, more natural and he althy. True, eating such a delicacy is not worth it for those who suffer from allergies.

Benefit

The benefits and harms of pistachio halva are due to its composition. Any seeds and nuts are rich in useful substances, because they store everything necessary for a future sprout that can develop from them. Pistachios are no exception. They contain such useful elements as potassium, magnesium, copper and phosphorus. B vitamins, especially B6, can be found in large quantities in these nuts. In addition, pistachios contain antioxidants that slow down the aging process and prevent cancer.

Pistachio halva is also an aphrodisiac, so this is a great dessert for a couple in love. This is also a "bonus" brought by the composition of pistachios.

Like other types of halva, it is recommended for athletes under heavy loads. It helps to quickly replenish lost energy. Still, pistachio halva is not a panacea, and not everyone should eat it.

Harm

First of all, you need to understand that there is a huge amount of sugar in halvah. Therefore, it should not be consumed by diabetics and obese people. He althy people who followfigure, it should be eaten in moderation. There are other reasons why it is unwise to overeat halva. It can be very allergenic. Those who are prone to allergies should eat a very small portion and follow the reaction of their body. And if you know for sure about allergies to nuts and seeds, such a product can be simply life-threatening. In addition, halva is not easily absorbed by the body, so it is also not recommended for people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys.