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Comment by irrational | Hacker News Reader

I truly don't understand pistachio ice cream. Is it an acquired taste? Do you have to eat it as a small child to grow up liking it?

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The problem with pistachio is that there are a lot of bad pistachio ice creams and gelatos (IMHO). There's really an art to getting it to where it both isn't bitter and isn't too sweet. Ben & Jerry's for example is typically way, way too sweet (in any flavour). There are a couple of exceptions but I can't eat B&J's Pistachio. YMMV.

My particular poison is pistachio of hazelnut gelato. In both cases with correct balance you get something with a nutty, creamy flavour.

It's not something I had until I was an adult so it's not a childhood thing either.

At this point, everything Ben & Jerry's has way to much sugar/corn syrup/whatever.

The point of old school Ben & Jerry's was way too much cream. Apparently, that has gotten too expensive or too perishable for an industrial cold chain.

Like rum-raisin. It depends how they make it.

I've heard laboratorio del gelato in NYC is good. Never been to it --one day I may go pay a visit.

So years ago there used to be a gelato shop in the West Village called L'Arte del Gelato on the corner of Barrow St and 7th Ave if memory serves. It was right next to the Christopher St subway station and the place would actually shake when the trains went through.

They had an amazing pistachio gelato.

Years ago now the owners had some kind of split. I never knew the details but it resulted in that store changing its name. I honestly forget what to now. It's gone. But the other owner (I guess?) opened a store under the original name in Chelsea Market, which is still there today. I haven't been there in some years but I believe the pistachio gelato is the same. I would definitely recommend trying that.

Hm, to me, B&J's Pistachio Pistachio is one of their less sweet offerings. I used to like Cherries Garcia, but it's way too sweet for me these days.

Do you have favorite pistachio brands? I’ve never really liked it, aside from one of the decent mass market brands, Breyer’s, perhaps.

Find an Indian grocery store and grab some from their freezer

Indian kulfi is also good, but it's not the same as Western ice cream, since the milk is intentionally caramelized during the preparation.

This might be a case where people genetically taste things differently, because pistachio ice cream wasn't an acquired taste for me at all. Just seems delicious, though maybe a hair off the map of the kind of taste you usually get in ice cream.

Hmm, that is an interesting thought that it might be like Cilantro where there is a genetic component.

The benefit of pistachio is supposed to be that it uses pistachio butter, which makes the ice cream creamier

Now a days, a lot of people just use pistachio extract, which mean the flavor has to stand on its own.

Lot of garbage places. It should taste closer to raw pistachios, but somewhat sweet. Color is closer to brown, it can be green but not bright green.

If it tastes like almond, it's terrible.

It’s the most delicious ice cream flavor. Pistachios in general, along with cashews, are god tier nuts

My girlfriend judges icecream shops by their pistaccio. I really don't understand.. .

It’s a big thing in the Indian subcontinent.

i tried it as an adult and liked it the very first time. Its my go to flavor when i can't make up my mind.

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