Pistachios Are Like Gold In This Southern Italian City

People travel all over the world for a taste of Italy. What makes the country's food so delicious is partly the chefs that create it, yes, but the full flavors really come from the incredible produce. Bologna's Lasagna alla Bolognese, the Neapolitan pizza, and pesto Genovese have been printed in Italian guidebooks for ages, but in Southern Italy, the claim to fame isn't glutenous, it's a nut. Volcanic soil and Mediterranean sun team up to create Southern Italy's most coveted nut: the Bronte pistachio.

It's easy to spot a pistachio from Bronte, Sicily by its unique emerald color, but the real kicker is in the flavor. There are a lot of buttery nuts out there with a high price tag, like macadamia and Brazil nuts, but Italy's pistachios are in a league of their own. Bronte pistachios are almost creamy with notes of marzipan. The unique earthy flavors can't be produced without the equilibrium of Bronte's soil and strong sun, which pushes the price up to as much as five dollars per ounce. When compared to the average pistachio available for less than a dollar per ounce, Brontes are certainly an indulgence, but a worthy one.

Sicily is synonymous with piercingly blue waters and dreamy coastlines, but just a few miles inland, the island is filled with mountains and even an active volcano, Mt. Etna. While stunning to admire, the volcano offers more than a postcard photo. Nunzio Caudullo, a descendant of one of the first pistachio companies in Bronte, shared with The New York Times, "The lava in the earth, the minerals in the lava, makes the taste of our pistachios different ... Other places like Iran, Turkey, California, do not have this kind of soil."

The soil and sun are responsible for the nut's unique flavor, but the harvesting traditions are what make the pistachio so precious to Sicily. The nut was introduced to the island as early as the 9th century, and the tradition of cultivating them on Mt. Edna's volcanic slopes has survived centuries, now woven deep into Sicilian culture. Considering they can only be grown in the small town they were named after, Bronte pistachios are highly sought after. Not only is the location limiting, but the nuts are also famously gathered by hand, extending the harvesting timeline even further. There are plenty of incredible foods and libations to keep you busy in Sicily, but you have to start with the pistachios.