Description
The Fystiki Eginas PDO is a pistachio (Pistacia vera) from the family of Anacardiacee.
Production Area
The production area of the Fystiki Eginas PDO is within the municipal areas of Aegina, Kypseli, Messagros, Vathy and Perdika, on the island of Aegina, in the Attica region.
Production Method
Rootstock significantly influences the productivity and vigour of the tree, which is propagated through budding growing on spontaneous terebinth, a plant of the same family. In the months from November through March, the plant goes through vegetative rest and is pruned. The pistachio is a unisexual or dioecious tree, with only male or female flowers: the female ones are gathered in panicles on sprouts of the crops; the male flowers have a calyx with five sepals, lack a corolla and have five short stamens. The pollination is anemophilous (takes place with the wind). One single male specimen is able to produce enormous quantities of pollen, sufficient to inseminate a very high number of flowers. The female pistachio starts to flower in the first two weeks of April and starts to grow in the following two weeks. The fruit harvest takes place from the end of August until September, using rods with an end covered with rubber or cloth, to avoid damages to the branches. Once gathered, the fruits are transported quickly to the shell breaking machines and then to their commercialisation.
Appearance and Flavour
The Fystiki Eginas PDO presents a rubbery hull that preserves the seeds, which are of an intense green and covered with a purplish film.
History
The origins of the Fystiki Eginas PDO are linked to the spreading of the pistachio, native to the Middle East and almost certainly to ancient Persia, throughout Europe and also Greece. In fact, its name seems to derive from the Persian pesteh or fisteh or fistij, a word that in Greek has become pistàkion.
Gastronomy
The Fystiki Eginas PDO should be kept in a cool and dry place. Shelled, toasted and at times salted, the Fystiki Eginas PDO lends itself to direct consumption, but also to be used for pastry making, sausage making and in the preparation of various recipes (soups, pesto, game, sauces, creams and ice cream).
Marketing
The product is sold as Fystiki Eginas PDO.
Distinctive Features
The Fystiki Eginas PDO is a fruit with an ancient history, known by the Babylonians, Assyrians, Jordanians, Greek, even cited in the Genesis, and is a product that characterises the gastronomic heritage of the Mediterranean populations.
