I worry more about pistachios because the shells are cracked open.
Pistachio nuts, which are related to cashews and mangoes, grow inside
a hull so you have the nut,
the shell, and then a hull around the shell. About 2 or 3 weeks before
the nut is ripe, the shell
starts to split, but the hull stays intact. With Turkish pistachios,
which are smaller than
California pistachios, the hull is kept on until they are ready to
be processed. But in California, they take the hull off within
24 hours of picking so that the hull doesn't stain the shell.
The hull is pink and that is why they stain pistachio nuts pink because
originally in the
Middle East, they were sold in the pink husk.
Once hulled, the nuts (still in their split shell) are soaked in brine
and then dried and roasted. If we were going to have a problem with
them, it would be because there was an illegal in the brine, and I don't know that we can be sure there isn't one.
I did find instructions for salting and roasting your own and you can get unsalted,
unroasted pistachios at the health food store (they taste very boring). You
could also use this method for salting and roasting your own whole pumpkin
seeds (we used to do this when we were kids at Halloween).
Here are the instructions,
Roasting
Home roasting allows you to prepare pistachios according
to your own personal taste: shorter
roasting time for crisp pistachios with minimal roasted flavor, and longer
roasting time for a
stronger roasted flavor.
Dissolve 2 to 3 ounces of salt in 4 ounces of water (1/2
cup). Pour this salt solution into a deep saucepan over high
heat. Add about 8 to 10 cups of pistachios and stir until all water
has evaporated and salt is deposited on the nuts.
Spread nuts on a cookie sheet in a preheated 250 degree
F. oven and roast 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours, depending upon taste preference. Stir every 30 minutes.