Products made from pistachios are becoming increasingly popular.

For example pistachio cream, but also pastry specialties such as nougat and panettone. In fact, on the slopes of Mount Etna not only pistachios are grown and harvested, but also high-quality typical products are made. The uniqueness lies precisely in this: in creating a complete supply chain.

Etna’s green gold

In Italy, pistachios are mainly grown in Sicily. The best known and most valuable variety is certainly the Bronte DOP green pistachio, named after the municipality of Bronte on the slopes of Mount Etna. The region’s climate and the peculiarities of the lava soil are ideal for growing this type of pistachio; but the difficulties associated with this type of soil do not make it possible to mechanize the harvest and thus reduce production costs. The Bronte pistachio is valuable and expensive for precisely these reasons. In fact, it is often referred to as “Etna’s green gold”.

What is Bronte PDO Pistachio?

Bronte is a small municipality at the foot of Mount Etna (the highest volcano in Europe); at about 900 meters above sea level. The agricultural area of Bronte consists mainly of strata of more or less old lava rock; formed over long periods of time by the eruptive activity of the volcano. The initially not very fertile lava rock becomes very fertile and nutrient-rich soil over time due to the corrosion of natural substances. In this soil arises thanks to a mixture of climate; Soil and human labor the Brontese PDO pistachio Pistacia vera, as the plant is called in Latin, is a non-hermophrodic plant of Persian origin.