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Pistachios

When I was a kid, pistachios Had shells they dyed bright red And sure enough, that color To your fingers quickly spread. It didn’t wash off easily, But left a tell-tale clue About what you’d been snacking on, That bright red proof on view. Today, I cracked pistachios And wondered, as I ate, Why someone once decided To disguise their natural state. No matter why, that dye is gone – Red fingers not the answer. For all we know, pistachios With dye might have caused cancer.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2024




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Date: 12/4/2024 1:14:00 PM
As usual I enjoyed reading your flowing poem, Ilene. I can't remember seeing red-dyed pistachios, but checked out of curiosity and it seems the dye was used to hide the stains incurred during harvesting. ~ Regards // paul
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Date: 12/3/2024 6:17:00 PM
Thanks for such a lovely comment to a nut. Pistachios are terrific, but a little pricey. As a foodie, I appreciated your poem.
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Date: 12/2/2024 9:06:00 PM
Interesting: red dye = cancer, perhaps. Nothing to die for, that's for sure. Sic Bobby Kennedy (Jr.) on this one: McDonald's in one hand, red pistachios in the other. What will be in his third hand?! lol.... Next up, another Nixon; then another Eisenhower; then another Truman... Do you think we'll ever get to Lincoln ?! Probably not before the Johnsons: Lyndon, Andrew, and Howard. ~ Keep smiling, Gershon
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Date: 12/2/2024 10:27:00 AM
The red ones were for Shabbos at Bubby’s house. Red pistachios is not missed. Off topic — What I do miss is red watermelon with big black seeds. It tasted so much better than the pinkish watermelon with the white seeds. Seedless watermelon is ‘progress’ gone bad. I hope black seed watermelon is not extinct.
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Date: 12/2/2024 12:12:00 AM
Love those Ilene, never seen them with red dye, God only knows what preservatives they put in food to prolong their shelf life. Tom
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Date: 12/1/2024 3:59:00 PM
What foods eaten today do not cause cancer or some other health problem? Pistachios are one of my favorite snacks, as are walnuts, pecans, and hazelnts. Pistachios are expensive, more so the unshelled ones! Shelled or not, I prefer them unsalted. You revived a long buried memory Ilene – pistachios were once dyed red! / Maurice
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