Pistachio paste: description and methods of preparation of the product

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

On the shelves of grocery stores, you can sometimes find products that are little known to ordinary customers. For example, pistachio paste is rarely used in cooking and therefore is not of particular interest to most housewives. Nevertheless, this product is unique and has a lot of advantages that are worth talking about in more detail.

Description

In cooking, nuts are usually used as a flavoring or spectacular decoration. Usually it is hazelnuts or peanuts. Pistachios are rarely found in recipes. However, over time, scientists have found that these fruits for cooking are a real find. They are distinguished not only by their exquisite taste, but also by their enormous nutritional value. No wonder in ancient times pistachios were called "magic nuts". Previously, this product was used only in dried form, but now pistachio paste has become very popular.

In fact, this is a semi-finished product that has found its application in many areas of culinary art. So, in the confectionery industry, it is used as an additional ingredient forpreparation of nougat, some glazes, fillings, creams and various desserts. In them, pistachio paste performs two functions:

• A flavor that gives finished products an original and unique taste.
• Natural dye. After adding it, the mass acquires a delicate greenish tint.

Usually pistachio paste is of two types:

• Scented.
• Natural. Its cost, of course, is much higher than that of the previous option.

Products prepared using this semi-finished product, along with a unique aroma, receive a huge amount of useful minerals, amino acids and vitamins. By the way, according to American scientists, there are much more of them than in the usual peanuts, hazelnuts or almonds.

Factory recipe

In order for the finished dish to have all the listed properties, it is better, of course, to use a natural product. A flavored mixture will not be able to give the desired result. For professional and home use, the product from France DGF Royal is ideal.

This is 100% pistachio paste. The recipe for its preparation is extremely simple. First, the best Italian nuts from Sicily are lightly roasted until a characteristic pronounced aroma appears. After that, they are ground to a paste-like state with a homogeneous consistency. Sometimes when opening the package, oil may be observed on the surface. But this is quite natural for such a product. Before using it, you just need tostir well and the consistency will be restored. This is the perfect pistachio paste. The product recipe was created by Arnaud Gauthier, who is the brand chef of DGF and claims the title of the best confectioner in France.

DIY

Sometimes not only the quality, but also the naturalness of some products purchased in the store is questionable. Therefore, many housewives are often interested in how to make pistachio paste at home.

For those who have decided to seriously engage in cooking, you can advise a fairly simple recipe. As initial products, it will require: for 0.5 kg of pistachios, 88 milliliters of water, 125 g of peeled almonds, 250 g of sugar and a couple of drops of almond extract.

All work takes place in several stages:

• First you need to chop the nuts.
• Then add almond extract to them and mix everything well.
• Separately on water (70 milliliters) cook sugar syrup.
• Combine both mixtures.
• Add another tablespoon of water and stir until smooth.

After that, the finished mass can be used immediately or sent for storage in the freezer. In conditions of low temperature, it can lie for several months.

Alternative

Those who often bake at home or like to pamper their loved ones with various confectionery novelties know another way to cook pistachio paste. This option requiresthe following ratio of products: for 150 g of pistachios we take 20 g of almonds, 10 ml of water and 40 g of sugar.

In this case, the cooking technology will be as follows:

• First of all, fry the pistachios in a dry frying pan for ten minutes.
• After that, they must be ground to a state of flour.
• Do the same with almonds. True, this nut does not need to be roasted.
• Separately boil the syrup in a saucepan of sugar and water.
• Add both chopped products there.
• Shift the mixture into a blender and mix until it becomes a thick paste.

The resulting mass is completely ready for use and can be used for its intended purpose. A similar composition is good not only for baking. It makes an excellent ingredient for an Italian sauce used when sautéing fish, meat or vegetables.