What it means
پسته (peste) is the pistachio nut. The word is pure Persian, inherited from Old Iranian, and it travelled into Greek as pistákē, then into Latin as pistacium, and eventually into English as pistachio. So the word you use when ordering pistachio ice cream in English is, at its root, a Persian word. In everyday Persian, پسته is used both for the raw nut and the roasted, salted variety sold in shops. A related form is پسته خام (peste-ye khâm) for raw pistachios and پسته برشته (peste-ye boroshte) for roasted ones.
How to use it
- یه کیلو پسته میخوام. (ye kilo peste mikhâm.) “I want one kilo of pistachios.”
- بستنی پستهای دو تا بده. (bastani-ye pestei do tâ bede.) “Give me two pistachio ice creams.”
- پستههای ایرانی بهترینن. (pestehâ-ye irâni behtarinin.) “Iranian pistachios are the best.”
- رو کیک پسته خرد شده ریختم. (ru keik peste khord shode rikhtam.) “I sprinkled crushed pistachios on the cake.”
Cultural note
Iran is among the world’s largest pistachio producers, and the Kerman region is especially famous for its crop. Pistachios are a staple of Iranian hospitality: a bowl of roasted, salted پسته appears on almost every sofreh at New Year, at weddings, and at casual visits. The green-and-red colour of the open pistachio shell is also a familiar image in Persian food photography and packaging.