Name: Pistachio powder or paste
Prep time: 31 min
Cook time: 17 min
Total time: 48 min
Yield: 400 g
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 200 g pistachios; 200 g caster sugar; 4 tablespoons water; 1 egg white

Step by step recipe

Step 1

Preheat oven to 170°C (340°F).

You can buy pistachios already blanched with their skins removed (the green ones on the left in the photo), or still in their skins (usually cheaper).

Step 2 - ⌛ 2 min.

For this recipe the pistachios need to have the skins removed, so if you need to do this, plunge them for 2 minutes into boiling water. Drain, then slip off the skins, which should now be quite easy.

Step 3 - ⌛ 5 min.

Spread out on a baking sheet, and put in the oven to dry roast for about 5 minutes.

Step 4 - ⌛ 10 min.

Meanwhile heat 200 g caster sugar and 4 tablespoons water together in a small pan over high heat, and bring up to 120°C (250°F), using an electronic thermometer if possible.

Step 5 - ⌛ 5 min.

When this temperature has been reached, tip the pistachios all at once into the pan.

Step 6 - ⌛ 15 min.

Then stir with a wooden spatula. After a few seconds the mixture should become grainy.

If this does not happen immediately it is because the sugar has not reached 120°C (250°F) yet. Don't worry, just keep stirring for a while longer until the change occurs.

When the mixture has turned grainy (like in the photo), stop stirring, remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Step 7 - ⌛ 1 min.

Tip the cooled contents of the pan into a blender or food processor.

Step 8 - ⌛ 3 min.

Blend until it becomes evenly ground and green: pistachio powder.

If you wish to use this powder for flavouring biscuits, a cake or a cream for example, use as it is. The powder is quite easy to incorporate.

Step 9 - ⌛ 2 min.

If you want pistachio paste, to fill chocolates for example, it's useless to blend any longer as, unlike praline, it will not turn into a paste like this.

All that's needed is the addition of a little egg-white (as for marzipan) to bind the powder.

Step 10 - ⌛ 5 min.

The paste is best kept refrigerated, preferably spread into sort of flat cake, and wrapped in plastic film. Keep the powder at room temperature in an airtight jar.

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The 15 comments already posted on this recipe

My pistachio paste has hardened in the refrigerator, what can I do to reconstitute it please. Not rock solid but very hard to incorporate evenly into Italian almond biscuits.
Posted by Colette october 31^th 2020 at 02:35 n° 15
Remove from the fridge until an hour (or more), then try to cut it in small pieces.
Posted by jh Auteur october 31^th 2020 at 07:47 n° 14
How did you get it that green from step 7 to 8
Posted by shafique march 11^th 2015 at 21:24 n° 13
By the use of the food processor and his blade.
Posted by jh Auteur march 12^th 2015 at 09:23 n° 12
Thanks very much very easy to understand
Posted by nata february 1^st 2015 at 13:36 n° 11
SO, I really want to make this but i don't have a food processor and probably won't for a while so, can I do this in a blender or perhaps a magic bullet blender? (I just want to make powder, not the paste, for macarons) Please and thank you!
Posted by Sophia december 19^th 2014 at 21:02 n° 10
I think you can try using a blender, it's not gonna be easy, but with a container a little bit bigger than the blender head, it could be possible.
But perhaps if you could ask for a friend with a food processor, it will be much much easier...
Posted by jh Auteur december 20^th 2014 at 11:01 n° 9
How to store this and till how many days we can store in freezer??
Posted by Anonymous january 20^th 2014 at 17:28 n° 8
Read the recipe, step #10
Posted by jh Auteur january 21^th 2014 at 09:03 n° 7
If you use the powder in a cake, will it make the cake green or do you need to add food coloring?
Posted by Anonymous june 4^th 2011 at 23:28 n° 6
It will be light green with the powder in a cake, if you want a strong color you should use food coloring.
Posted by jh Auteur june 5^th 2011 at 09:20 n° 5
Okay...heated sugar and pistachio and water to 250, how much should I cool before putting into food processor? Do you have an approximate temperature?
Posted by Stacy june 2^nd 2011 at 18:27 n° 4
Wait for about 15 minutes and it will be OK.
Posted by jh Auteur june 3^rd 2011 at 07:37 n° 3
Merci Jean-Hugues! I've just created the most lovely pistachio paste (to use for warm pistachio cupcakes) thanks to your recipe... and I've tried many others before. Very much appreciated. Kind regards, Vicki (Melbourne, Australia)
Posted by Anonymous april 17^th 2011 at 05:18 n° 2
Thank's Vicky, appreciate.
Posted by jh Auteur april 17^th 2011 at 10:58 n° 1

	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats	Calories	Energy
Per 100 g	9 g RDI=14 %	52 g RDI=20 %	23 g RDI=32 %	455 kcal RDI=23 %	1,904 kJ RDI=23 %
Whole recipe	42 g RDI=65 %	238 g RDI=90 %	108 g RDI=148 %	2,092 kcal RDI=105 %	8,759 kJ RDI=105 %

Pistachio powder or paste