Does anyone know how to open a completely unopened Pistachio nut?

[CarysW]

Besides attacking it with something hard and probably crushing the contents?

 

[Kryst51]

Don't they have a little ridge. I am picturing a scene from the movie Independence day when they are opening up the alien using a scalpel, oh so gently prying it apart at the seam. I can imagine doing the same to a pistachio nut.

 

[CarysW]

Don't they have a little ridge. I am picturing a scene from the movie Independence day when they are opening up the alien using a scalpel, oh so gently prying it apart at the seam. I can imagine doing the same to a pistachio nut.

Well you see they would normally have some sort of crack in order to open them - I have mastered opening them from a tiny crack but the 3 I have left are completely sealed all round - they haven't cracked at all.

 

[PaulJR]

give them a tap, just hard enough to put a crack in them, then they should pull apart nicely. Bit of a Pistachio nut numpty too then?

 

[statsman]

Generally, by the time I've exhausted all the other options, I'm in usch a state I use a hammer and to hell with the contents.
Of course you can always leave them for the squirrels. Little critters will always find a way to get them open.

 

[Banana]

I like pistachio nuts but I recall being told to not eat any one that hasn't cracked open after a proper roasting; it's usually sign of not ripe, and the few I've force-opened didn't taste that great so I just chuck them out.

Same principle with any kind of shellfish.

 

[TessB]

I have mastered opening them from a tiny crack.

I love the edit notes! That just CRACKED me up!

 

[CarysW]

I like pistachio nuts but I recall being told to not eat any one that hasn't cracked open after a proper roasting; it's usually sign of not ripe, and the few I've force-opened didn't taste that great so I just chuck them out.

Same principle with any kind of shellfish.

I did manage to get one open yesterday after hitting it with a glass and then prising off the bits that decided not to crack - when I got into it it was a bit soft....maybe I will find some squirrels, don't see many where I live though strangely...

 

[Ron_dK]

Besides attacking it with something hard and probably crushing the contents?

Put it into a can of Cola and wait for 2,6 hours et voila .

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

The ones with a little crack can usually be opened by inserting the point of an empty shell half in there and twisting, but if there's no potential point of entry, I think you're going to have to resort to more stringent mechanical methods.

Nutcrackers of conventional type, or a hammer or ordinary pliers are all likely to smash the kernel, but something like a mole wrench, vice or G clamp would enable you to exert gently increasing pressure until just the shell cracks.

Or just throw them away and buy another packet...

 

[CarysW]

Or just throw them away and buy another packet...

Out of all the advice you've given me this is possibly the most valuable!

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

BTW, I read somewhere recently that the accepted wisdom about unopened shellfish doesn't really have any basis in fact.

Bivalves that gape and don't close when tapped may be unsafe to eat because they may be dead, but shells that don't open on cooking are apparently no less safe to eat than those that do.

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

Alternatively, take off an nuke the pistachio nuts from orbit - it's the only way to be sure.

 

[Banana]

BTW, I read somewhere recently that the accepted wisdom about unopened shellfish doesn't really have any basis in fact.

Bivalves that gape and don't close when tapped may be unsafe to eat because they may be dead, but shells that don't open on cooking are apparently no less safe to eat than those that do.

Shouldn't be too surprising to learn that what your mom told you isn't always true.

Though, I recall an incident where a guy dug up shellfish and had no clue what he was doing and ended up gathering up clams that weren't quite in season and should have had been left behind. Not one of them opened when cooked and anyone who forced the shell open & ate got quite sick afterwards.

Maybe it's merely coincidental, and the actual cause is something else (e.g. immature clams), but that did convince me that there was truth in the wisdom.

Wouldn't be first time I was wrong, though. Nonetheless, I'm quite content to discard the uncracked nuts and just get more.

 

[SQL_Hell]

Alternatively, take off an nuke the pistachio nuts from orbit - it's the only way to be sure.

hmm I seen that before many times... ocuk?

 

[Pauldohert]

BTW, I read somewhere recently that the accepted wisdom about unopened shellfish doesn't really have any basis in fact.

Bivalves that gape and don't close when tapped may be unsafe to eat because they may be dead, but shells that don't open on cooking are apparently no less safe to eat than those that do.

Can we have a link to this?

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

I believe the converntional wisdom about shellfish out of season (not when there's an 'R' in the month - ie. only in the summer) *does* have basis in fact - many shellfish are filter feeders and during their less active periods, can harbour significant populations of bacteria which would otherwise be flushed out in warmer, more active periods.

Here's the article I was thinking about regarding unopnened mussels though:
http://www.blueharvest.com.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=eRKtqJjCx94=&tabid=85

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

hmm I seen that before many times... ocuk?

Ripley, from Aliens

 

[Pauldohert]

I believe the converntional wisdom about shellfish out of season (not when there's an 'R' in the month - ie. only in the summer) *does* have basis in fact - many shellfish are filter feeders and during their less active periods, can harbour significant populations of bacteria which would otherwise be flushed out in warmer, more active periods.

Here's the article I was thinking about regarding unopnened mussels though:
http://www.blueharvest.com.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=eRKtqJjCx94=&tabid=85

Cheers - so as long as it opened before cooking its fine, if it smells OK when opened? I guess we have to rely on the chef having tested them pre cooking? I think the potential of opening a nasty one - may put me off the rest, so I think I'll still leave them.

Interesting though, maybe when the myth is fully debunked I will give it a go.

 

[Banana]

Cool, thanks for the link. Looks like my anecdote above was just coincidental after all then.