Pistachios in Ice Cream

As much as I like pistachio flavored ice cream and gelato, I just cannot find one that has good nuts. For whatever reason, the pistachios always seem limp, not crunchy like fresh nuts. I know it must be hard to preserve the crunch when the nuts go into a liquid. And they often seem to have a slight stale character.

The best ones I've had were just the flavor, no nuts.

So why do manufacturers put inferior nuts into their product?

Has anyone had a pistachio ice cream or gelato with fresh, crunchy nuts?

Bernard, Hi....

Best bet for crunch pistachio nuts in your ice cream is in Europe and not in the USA. Logic - the best pistachio nuts in the world come not from North America but from Iran and there is a current at least partial embargo on importation of Iranian dried fruits and nuts to the USA.

Amusing side note - that same embargo is in force in Israel but the supply of Iranian nuts and dried fruits "miraculously" continues unabated. One of the advantages of life in Israel, another being the free importation of Cuban cigars.

Best
Rogov

Bernard
From recollection most of the Pistachio gelato I've had in Italy has been smooth. Perhaps the logical way around it is to buy a smooth one and then crush some Pistachios yourself and sprinkle them on top when ready to eat it.

regards

Ian

My best luck has been with ice cream that is not green. There are a couple of local brands around here like that, one being Shaines of Maine.

Ian,
Exactly right. I Europe - Italy really - Pistachio gelato is smooth, white, and has delicious pistachio flavor without use of mushy whole nuts. That is the standard that leads me to complain about American ice cream makers who are compelled to add nuts that add nothing to the final product. I really don't have a desire to add the nuts onto ice cream, but if I did, I would candy-coat them and crush them and do as you suggest.

Daniel,
Actually, right here California grows great pistachios. And not far from here out in Lompoc they grow great walnuts, too. I don't have much experience with Iranian nuts, But then I haven't a clue where the Italians get their pistachios that flavor gelato. I would venture a guess that I could make really good gelato by simmering crushed nuts in milk to extract the flavor, then strain out the nuts before proceeding with the recipe. And I would not add nuts into to gelato before freezing.

I really want to know whether anyone, anywhere, makes a decent nut ice cream or gelato in which the nuts have crunch and taste fresh. Hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, almonds, whatever.

[David M. Bueker]

Well our local creamery manages ice cream with crunchy nuts, but that doesn't help you much. Pistachio is my favorite flavor.

<<Warning: thread drift>>

One of my favourite coffee shops has a very adventurous chef in charge. For a while there, she was making flour-free, cocoa-free "brownies" out of ground pistachios. They were pale jungle-green in colour, and had a wonderful pudding-y texture. Lovely flavour. They were iced with a pistachio and icing sugar frosting, also pale jungle-green.

Matilda
Good thread drift Maybe they might also want to give chick-pea flour a go, as the flatbreads made from it are pretty tasty, but without a strong 'flavour'.
regards
Ian

Bernard - (getting back on track here)

FWIW, I took a look in my ice cream bible (Ices, by Caroline Liddel and Robin Weir) to see what their take on pistachio ice cream is. They roast pistachios, skin them, and grind them into powder with vanilla sugar. Hot cream is poured over these and they're allowed to cool and then sit overnight in the fridge. A second batch of nuts is blanched, skinned, and chopped coarsely. The ice cream is made by taking the ground nut/cream mixture and putting it into the ice cream freezer. Just before it's done, the chopped nuts are stirred in and the ice cream is put in the freezer to finish firming up. They specify that this should be served within a couple of hours, and perhaps that's due to the nuts getting mushy over time.

I haven't tried this myself, but it sounds good.