Nuts, pistachio nuts, raw

Pistachios are most often eaten shelled as a snack, cracked open one at a time, but they're also a staple ingredient in baklava, nougat, and pistachio gelato or paste, and a common garnish on desserts, salads, and Middle Eastern rice dishes. Roasted and salted in the shell is the classic snacking form; ground or finely chopped, they're used to crust fish or lamb, or worked into pesto-style sauces. Their vivid green color and mildly sweet, slightly resinous flavor make them one of the more distinctive nuts on the shelf.

Buy in-shell for freshness, since a naturally split shell is a sign of ripeness, or shelled for cooking convenience; store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer, as the fat content makes them prone to rancidity at room temperature. A 123-gram cup has 560 calories per 100 grams, about 689 calories for the full cup, with 20.2 grams of protein (40% DV) and 10.6 grams of fiber (38% DV), along with strong marks for magnesium (29% DV) and potassium (22% DV). That makes them a protein-and-fiber-dense snack or salad topping best kept to modest portions given the calorie density, with 45.3 grams of fat per 100 grams coming from the nut's natural oils.