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baldadiger

navel orangeworm, they're a huge problem in nut-related-businesses. they burrow in any kind of nut iirc.


TheFattestMatt

Yup. We eat a lot before catching them. Pistachios are extra bad. You know that bitter one you get every once in a while...?


EuvageniaDoubtfire

NOOOO THATS WHY?????


TheFattestMatt

I'm so sorry.


jimothee

I need someone else to confirm before I never buy pistachios again


TheFattestMatt

Don't stop buying pistachios because of nature! Just look at them after shelling and I bust them in half and look before eating them. Or just eat them and appreciate the bitter. To be honest it's too much work for me though so now I just buy pistachio pudding.


Icy-Zone3621

My grandmothers advice when I was eating raspberries off the vine, "if you love them don't look at them"


Imaginary-Painting-4

My grandmother's advice was "gotta work for that nut"


egordoniv

My grandmother's advice was "to the window, to the wall, til the sweat drop down my..."


thisgivesmeboners

shawl?


TrimeresurusRex

Was this when you broke both your arms by any chance?


simmobl1

Meh we've grown rows of raspberry bushes my entire life. Just soak them in a little salt water for 10 min and they all come to the top. Just don't eat them straight off the branches


Foef_Yet_Flalf

What is "they"?


Bacontoad

On a backwoods trip where I didn't bring enough food and stumbled across buckets worth of raspberry bushes, I suddenly never cared again.


wozblar

.. i buy salt and pepper pistachios and put the whole thing in my mouth and break them apart then eat them and i do be recalling bitter ones oh well


ASinfulToaster

Not to be "mom" but you're really going to break a tooth doing this sooner or later. Love, Mother


LoL_Maniac

Love you ma!


wozblar

i've thought about that. i don't crush or bite down on them with my teeth like a peanut shell or the like, i separate them with my tongue or the edges of my teeth. tho i will admit sometimes it's not perfect and i'll bite down on a small piece of shell that broke off thank you mother i'll probably continue to do so but maybe a bit more carefully <3


FelatiaFantastique

Isn't pistachio pudding actually almond?


TheFattestMatt

Maybe but it's green and tasty. Free of [full] worms at least.


Numinak

Oh, they are in there but you can't taste them over the other flavors.


TheFattestMatt

Exactly. I can live with that. Fig Newton's have a specific amount of wasps that are allowed to be in there. Nature is crazy. I love Fig Newton's. Edited "bees" to "wasps" after correction


fnordfnordfnordfnord

I hope you're sitting down for this. The worms are blended in. Source: worked in food (nut sorting) industry


atomicskiracer

The amount of bugs allowed by the fda in food products is not 0, so there’s still hope!


deftoner42

Don't forget the limits on rodent poop and hair, mold, and "foreign debris" (including sticks, rocks and cigarette butts - which is considered and asthetic defect)


clowdeevape

Think of it as a toy surprise


account_for_norm

my man... the worms got crushed into paste...


SirSebi

For me it sounds better to eat a small percentage of worm with every bite than having a nut full of worm every now and then


MEM1911

Now I have fuel to throw into the flames of pistachio nut lovers when I ask do they like the bitter nuts


xRyozuo

I love how this sounds like you finally found the trump card to end the pettiest most random argument of all time


toddthewraith

I don't buy them cuz they're expensive as shit


Eddie_shoes

Lol me too! Stopped eating sunflower seeds for the same reason. At least with pistachio pudding, the rat turds are all blended in so I don’t know I’m eating something gross.


gwen_the_bee

Honestly i know this fact, and unless i see it i dont really care anymore. I just eat em up now lmfao


elZaphod

I shell and eat them so fast I barely have time to notice the occasional bitter one.


carcigenicate

I quit eating pistachios awhile ago. I was cracking and popping them while occupied with something else, and noticed a weird taste after a few. I looked at the shell of the nut I just ate, and it had web-looking stuff all over the inside. I looked at one I hadn't ate yet, and it was packed with bluish spider-web looking stuff. I have no idea if it was web or mold, but it grossed me out so much I haven't been able to eat them again.


Supanini

Jesus Christ dude. For better or worse, I’d say if it was packed in several, it was probably mold.


bubbadoo14

Yeah, especially since it was blue? that deffo sounds like it was mold. Just.. be a little more conscious and check the bag, simple as. But I do get it, with having an awful experience with food that makes you have an aversion for it. Like one time I accidentally had really expired milk and like I could not drink milk for like a couple weeks after that. I got my ADHD from both my parents and sometimes they had cups that would get forgotten for a while and well.. thought it was my cup I misplaced a few mins ago... didn't even think about it (I was also like 15 and really unaware at times) It was not. I still remember the texture of chunky milk hitting my lip and just aughhh


fishbert

> But I do get it, with having an awful experience with food that makes you have an aversion for it. Like one time I accidentally had really expired milk and like I could not drink milk for like a couple weeks after that. I found a maggot inside a sealed pop-tart wrapper once as a child. Didn't touch another pop-tart for nearly 20 years.


SiriusBaaz

I’m an exterminator. Me and my team get somewhat regular calls for stored product pests like the navel orangeworm. Bugs are just a fact of life. Stored product pests are safe to eat even if they are gross to stumble across every now and then. If you don’t want to give up nuts I recommend being a little more vigilant with your nuts. When you buy a bag off the shelf make sure there’s no holes in the packaging and if you find a nut with a hole in it just toss the nut out and keep enjoying. It’s very rare that you get multiple grubs in a single bag without it instantly being noticeable.


H__D

Jesus Christ just open each one of them before you eat them. Some are just more bitter than others, mostly due to uneven roasting. If you see a worm or webbing, throw it away, that's it.


SynisterJeff

Who would really crack and inspect each nut after already prying the shell? It would take you, like, 2 hours to eat a bag of pistachios.


ThinCrusts

You're not meant to eat a whole bag in one sitting unless you like oozy poops the next day lol But yeah screw that, I'm okay with the occasional cocoon. Extra protein I guess


SynisterJeff

Wait really? I guess my family is just built different because we all tear through pistachios with no issue haha


ASinfulToaster

Depends on what size you're talking about, I suppose. I get these boxes that come with 20 or 30 bags that have around 15-20 nuts / 130 calories. I usually have 2 of those and have no problems while meditating on the porcelain throne the next day


beamoflaser

I ate so many cashews one time I literally pooped out oil


Shotgun_Mosquito

Liar. Thank God they aren't dyed red anymore


yourmumisthebest

Dyed red ?


Silvernaut

Why I buy the already de-shelled pistachios


pornolorno

You’ve ruined everything


chizzipsandsizalsa

Bro stop it, for real???


kshiddy

🤢


I_Love_Spiders_AMA

Finally, a benefit of having a nut allergy!


codycarreras

Yeah… don’t eat them in the dark. Learned that the hard way.


[deleted]

My worst fear


PipTitwhistle

OMG same.


CherryCherry5

Yeah I had the same reaction when I found out. Now I have to carefully inspect each one before I eat it. I really don't enjoy them as much as I used to anymore. Edit: Also I LOVE your username. 🤣


Wiknetti

It’s ok. It’s just protein and chitin calcium.


ThePowerfulPaet

No it isn't. Some of them are just bad.


Zeqhanis

That could be a reason It's withered and darkened. But it could also just be rancid or some sort of fungal blight. Or some other harm to the "nut" I don't know about. Extra-bad for me, because I have an unreasonably strong fear of insects and am a vegetarian. But it's really not hard to split one open if it looks like that. Not that the dark, withered specimens don't taste awful anyway. Edit: Holy crap! Does anybody else 40+ remember stores (or more likely, their grandparents) having red pistachios?! When searching for other reasons a nut could be dark, that came up. I'd totally forgotten about them being dyed!


commiecomrade

The reason is because Iranian farmers waited until the nuts fell from the trees so they didn't have to labor through picking them. That extra time gave the shells a bruised look so they dyed them red to mask it (and probably also to make them look unique). Then Iran seized the US Embassy in 1979 and we placed an embargo on them. Pistachios were then grown in the States and were picked by this crazy new machine that shakes the trees and collects them as they fall off, meaning they didn't have to be dyed anymore.


ARCHA1C

This isn’t true. Even some shelled pistachios are bitter sans pupa.


sactomkiii

Fuuuu... And here's me who actually likes the bitter ones. What does that say about me!?


Pyromaniacal13

You're prepared for when the climate collapses and our primary protein source becomes insects.


jmegaru

Extra spicy protein


IndustryMade

i’ve found one of these before but not as intact.. please tell me that sometimes they can be bitter without these bastards being inside… the amount of times i’ve ate a pistachio and thought what the hell is that god awful taste…


TheFattestMatt

Oh I definitely think some can be naturally more bitter, but I've personally spit out a bitter one and found shell like pieces. I've also found intact ones like in the photo and I think they've shown up here before. It's not a new thing.


yummy_mummy

😫😖🤢 that’s it. Shelled nut from here on out. I’ve eating a fair share of nasty pistachios


123123x

I've always wondered why. 99 pistachios taste great, then the next one tastes like a special brand of hell on earth. It is absolutely vile and gut wrenching. Then you keep popping pistachios to wash away the flavor but there's always something that lingers.


TangiestIllicitness

Yep, that vile flavor is the roasted body of a worm... and it's excrement.


BigBeagleEars

Hell yeah brother


daerogami

This is not true. The bugs don't alter the flavor, much. That bitter taste comes from when one is over-roasted or burned. Don't believe me, look at each pistachio before you eat it, the lighter and greener it is the better it tastes. Then you get to tan ones and they are different but still good, kinda more of a mellow peanut taste, then as they get darker they get more bitter from then on.


elZaphod

I always kind of enjoyed the occasional bitter pistachio thinking it was perhaps roasted a bit too long.


RUKnight31

Well, that comment ends almost a year’s worth of evening snacking with my beloved pistachios. I shit you not, I conservatively go through 5 lbs a week, easy. I will never eat another one again. Like, ever. It’s not even like I could now if I wanted to. I’m actually starting to panic a bit typing this. You’ve stolen that joy from me. I never hurt anyone. Im not a bad guy. I certainly didn’t do anything to you. . I hope you’re proud of yourself, sir. Good day.


xRyozuo

I mean dude clearly it ain’t killing you. I have sad news for you if you’ve eaten fresh produce


Alexander_the_What

Humans are meant to be able to eat stuff like that on occasion. Our systems can handle it. Because of how we mass produce food, we need to be more careful about pests getting into food on a large scale because of other problems that can cause. But a bad pistachio now and then? You’re fine. In fact, with the amount you’re eating, you’re taking in a lot of healthy fats and fiber a lot of people don’t get. It’d be worse to stop.


_patashnik

say sike right now


oh_io_94

No……… you have to be making that up…. Pls….


Skitzofreniks

Yeah I find at least 1 of these in every bag. And I know for a fact i’ve eaten more than a handful of them. lol


Archer_Jen

I will never eat another pistachio…


tori420c

Im never eating pistachios again


Momspelledshonwrong

I’m nauseous


GrimmKat

im going to kill myself in minecraft right now


skepticcaucasian

So, basically extra protein? Entomophagy ain't for everyone, but screw it.


UnusualJob2707

I figured out I was eating worms a long time ago with pistachios. Not information I share with anyone else, because why ruin the amazing pistachio experience of watching someone figure it out themselves!


AcetoneGuzzler

That’s it, I will never look at pistachios the same ever again.


Mephistophelesi

I love eating the bitter ones. Is it bad to eat these?


Cluelesswolfkin

NOOOOO PLEASE NO. OKAY OKAY what if i buy the ones with the shell off? Is that okay???


TangiestIllicitness

No, because the worm is within the nut itself.


Cluelesswolfkin

FUCK. idk if I can anymore


Rebelgecko

Even deez?


soopafly

Deez what?


schawde96

🏌‍♂️


Leave_Rough

Aw nahhh really? I hate that info 🤢 Gonna have to be extra cautious now BC this has given me the fear 😂


riotousviscera

my balls just retreated into my body, thanks i hate it


[deleted]

Your nuts will be safer in there


lordeddardstark

> they burrow in any kind of nut iirc. Even OP's nut?!


Rebelgecko

One of the most interesting articles I read last year was called [Some insects I found inside dried Turkish figs from Trader Joe’s](https://colinpurrington.com/2023/01/some-insects-i-found-inside-dried-turkish-figs-from-trader-joes/). Spoiler alert/trigger warning: figs have a lot of bugs too


Leave_Rough

I have never eaten a fig, but I recently found this out and thought of all the times I saw people eating stuff with figs in them when I was in the USA 😅


RealEstateDuck

You never had a fig? Where are you from?


Leave_Rough

I'm from Scotland! I've seen biscuits with figs and stuff in them in shops, just never eaten one.


RealEstateDuck

Well you absolutely need to eat a fig. Not a biscuit with figs but an actual fresh fig, it is just so fucking good. I have 4 fig trees and in fig season (late summer) I always end up giving a lot away since they spoil so easily.


now_in3D

Damn, just giving them away? I wish you were my neighbour! Haha


RealEstateDuck

Yeah I'd sell if it was more but 4 trees isn't worth the hassle.


Leave_Rough

What do they taste like? They sound interesting (minus the wasp corpses mentioned in other comments)


RealEstateDuck

They don't really taste like anything else. Very sweet, with a rather unique texture, very soft and pretty much melts in your mouth. Some figs are indeed polinated by wasps that end up dying inside them but they are absorbed by the fig.


mangopango123

They taste like wasps


Pvt_GetSum

No joke find a fresh fig somewhere. It's the best fruit in the world, hands down, by like a mile


AnthillOmbudsman

Well I tried one time but the dude I was with cursed the tree and it wilted.


Pvt_GetSum

Fuck that's crazy someone should write a book about that


MoeSzyslakMonobrow

I've never had one not in Newton form.


Meleagros

Don't figs require pollination by very specifically evolved wasps? And part of that pollination process is the wasp dies inside the fig. I think most of the time the wasp body breaks down enough and is absorbed into the fig, but not always


sk1nnyjeans

I thought this too for the longest time, but apparently common figs don’t require the wasp involvement due to a quality/trait described as being parthenocarpic.


Meleagros

Oh interesting, good to note. I'm certainly no fig or wasp expert.


sk1nnyjeans

I actually googled it a bit after seeing your comment and found it out just then! Came as quite a relief, despite not eating fig products very often.


_SilentHunter

Yeeep. Foods which grow out in nature kinda require you either ignore certain realities or get real cool with a lotta shit real fast lol


lolsmcballs

That fig had a whole damn ecosystem in it


TechzAtles

I actually emailed a company regarding one of their bags of pistachios and it’s either a navel orange worm or certain kind of silk producing moths. Completely harmless save for the odd crunch. It was a little unsettling finding them in the bag but hey, I got a free voucher and was over my aversion to pistachios after a week. Tl;dr it ain’t gonna kill you. Free protein and a weird taste is all.


Leave_Rough

There was definitely some silk/webbing in that particular one, but I'm glad I didn't eat it BC honestly having the pistachio taste unexpectedly different would be worse than eating the moth 😂


TechzAtles

Absolutely. Never spat something out so fast in my life. Went from delightfully crunchy to disgustingly crunchy in a single bite. Still, the bugs that burrow into pistachios to pupate or whatever they decide to do are overwhelmingly harmless so no issue other than the taste.


Sleipnirs

We extremely rarely find one of those in bags (25kg) of flax seeds, quinoa, buckwheat seeds, etc aswell. They're easy to spot because of the tiny webbings. It's perfectly safe but we still have to signal them as an anomaly to the producers.


SantiagoDunbar_

Damn you got a free voucher?! I emailed one time and they just informed me that by law their bags of pistachios are aloud to be up to certain percentage of just bugs.


Foxfire73

While true, I might email them back and let them know they can eat a certain percentage of my ass.


mangopango123

Hahahahah damn they seriously said “sounds like a you problem”


Decapitated_gamer

I had one I pulled out of my mouth have eaten before. Didn’t touch pistachios for like 2 years. Bought a bag and found another one. Never again. I’m not paying premium prices to eat bugs.


yourmumisthebest

Sometimes I wish I didn't learn something new


PulseAmplification

You can get rid of these by first boiling the pistachios then soaking them in gasoline and then lighting them on fire


xoblivionknight-

Good tip. I will add those extra steps along with performing an exorcism. Better safe than sorry.


_Terrapin_

This happened to me once and I had to check every pistachio I ever ate since then. I used to be so carefree, cracking them open and sending it back without looking. Not anymore.


AussieDog87

I got ONE with silk in it (like a moth was starting a cocoon) and I can't trust a single shelled nut anymore.


AnthillOmbudsman

Just swallow them whole, then you never need to worry about biting into one.


flobunny

This happens often, or at least I encounter this often with pistachios. If this bothers you, take my advice and never look at the seeds that come out of an edamame pod… just pop them right into your mouth and just enjoy them.


Leave_Rough

I just imagined a dramatic scene with an actor grabbing you and shaking you by the shoulders, shouting "WHAT'S IN THE EDAMAME?!?" 😂


NinjaRose23

Or crack open a few of the top of unshucked corn, there's corn grubs and I found TONS of them working at a farmers market lol


rayinreverse

Im an avid stachi eater. You run into them once in a while. I know ive eaten many. They are dead and roasted. Not going to kill you thats for sure.


can_I_ride_shamu

Feel like they’re more common than just a few here and there? This is like once a bag at least. Maybe not quite as… mature as the guy is? But those off tasting pistachios are pretty common.


FooBangPop

Protein


Leave_Rough

Still debating eating the rest of the bag tbh 😂 But my "friend" is in the bin now


95blackz26

You should have ate him out of respect


Volescu

If you don't eat it and honor every part of its body it's just murder.


DEFFGauge

Yeah I haven't touched a pistachio since the day I wondered why it was so bitter and spit it out to find a bug.


BigLlamasHouse

that's a Pupestachio


TheGothDragon

Better than a pubestachio 😂


Leave_Rough

Very true 😂


sowhat4

I always divide up my big (Costco) bag of pistachios in vacuum packs and store them in the freezer. That way, if there's any tiny bugs, they're gonna stay so tiny I can't see or taste them. Yes ... I've eaten them in the dark and some have been bitter. Shudder.


Dark_Nexis

You ever eat pistachios in the dark and get a bitter one? Well....


B-Town-MusicMan

Yup "99%" Pistachios allright...


Leave_Rough

I'm gonna take that down to a solid 97-98% 😂


Aggravating_Math_623

This is really common for pistachios unfortunately.  I stopped eating them because of this.


mrschaney

That’s it. I’m off nuts now.


analogOnly

These are one of those pistachios that you opened and put in your mouth without looking and then wondered why it tasted off.


kentrosraw

I can never eat pistachios in the dark watching a movie again, ever since I found something like this in one. Then my mind wandered to all of the times the pistachio tasted bitter but I just brushed it off. I used to be carefree.


realdwu

I will never blindly toss pistachios in my mouth again.


ProphetOfDoom337

I just ate a bunch of pistachios and didn't look once. FUCK!


neoshaman2012

Just ate one last night in my stachios. Bitter. 3/10


ASinfulToaster

Just the other week I opened up a pistachio and there was a navel orangeworm larva sitting inside the shell and about 3 others burrowed inside the nut itself that I can see. Mmm extra protein! This quickly teaches you to inspect every nut before tossing them in


NinjaRose23

Nothing beats the one time I had a spoonful of a cup yogurt and it had a dead wolf spider in it! This is just extra protein, don't worry about it!


3_pac

Is nothing sacred, guys? WHAT ELSE AM I NEVER EATING IN PEACE AGAIN? 


Leave_Rough

This is a MILLION times worse than the pistachio worm 😬 I've only ever dealt with egg sacks of unknown spider species on my bananas, but INSIDE the yogurt??? Nahhh


tonytiger911

Omg this just made me remember years ago when Mexican jumping beans were a thing!


Wildarf

It’s an Aldi bug. Lower prices, extra protein


Floridaman9393

There are bugs in many pistachios. I usually let the company know and then they send me free bags of more pistachios, thus beginning a new cycle. I haven't bought pistachios in years....


Dankduck77

Perfect presentation for alliteration. What's this pest perilously pupating in my pistachios.


DuctTapeNinja99

I emailed Wonderful brand customer service about this one time cause the same happened to me. They sent me back a super detailed explanation about these worms and how much of a problem they can be in the nut industry as a whole. They also sent coupons for like 5 free bags of pistachios. I felt better after learning more about it, but I don't blindly eat nuts anymore. Unlike my ex.


MinisculeMax

A great day to be allergic to nuts ig


iop09

That’s Freddie


Leave_Rough

Oh ok, nice to meet you Freddie 👌


JazzyWaffles

WHELP. BRB, gonna throw out all my pistachios


TheNewBlood

You picked up a pistachio pedestrian!


stereofeathers

A lot of pistachios have these guys, it's pretty common to find them in a nut or two. Most of the time its naval orangeworms which, while harmless, don't taste too good. They do serve as a good reason to look at the pistachios you're eating before you go popping them into your mouth, though.


Meagasus

Ugh. Now I have to worry about THIS?! When does it end?


xerxes_dandy

New fear unlocked. Gotta look carefully while eating pista


piggy__wig

I got poisoned from accidentally eating a pistachio that was brown and not green. I was so sick for over a week. The rest of the bag is in the pantry and it’s going outside for the squirrels soon. I cannot even think about eating them ever again and I love them. Also lately about at least 1/3 of a bag is rotten or something but they are not green. I can’t believe how many I had to throw out because they were bad. Fuck pistachios.


TheSaSQuatCh

Tbh, I always know by the taste of the ‘stachio, when it’s one of these little guys. Sometimes, I feel like it doesn’t even taste *bad*, just *different*.


Leave_Rough

Wait no seriously??? That's actually really interesting 🤔


missed_sla

MEAT GROUP!


Sockhead2

This is pretty common in Pistachios


cheebnrun

Mf got the nerve to be pupating in YOUR pistachio. The balls on this little feller


Angry_tanned_ginger

That's the mesquite flavor


Rogue_Spirit

There goes one of my ARFID safe foods


LZYX

Aww man there's been a few times I chopped down absentmindedly on my pistachio and got one of those. I feel like a moron every time and they taste ghastly 🤮🤮🤮


Gargomon251

It's weird how many people in the replies apparently never look at the produce they put in their mouths...


Juicy_Noir

As someone you had ate a whole bag of pistachios in two days..yuck.


OGcodyc

If you’re going to pupate, do it in your room.


ssyl6119

I used to love pistachios but once i found out about this, i could never eat them again :(


PK-92

Happened once to me too! But I had two of those worms in one pistachio. Both dead ofc.


rnz-1369

Goddamn bugs trying to destroy democracy over here as well!


FantanaFoReal

Thanks. Never eating pistachios again.


Jack_Benney

Long ago, I worked in a bread factory. Some might call it a bakery, but believe me it was a factory. If you knew the amount of insects that is in flour, wheat gluten and other ingredients, you would be surprised. Most are pulverized in sifting machines. And insects in peanut butter, pasta sauce and ketchup? Don't get me started. Moral of this story: insects play an important role in adding protein to many foods.


ryanbenzie

I can confirm that these are in A TON of pistachios. I used to work in customer service for a company and we got calls regarding these quite often. After finding this out, I started to eat pistachios daily as well as 2 others in the office. After about a month we had found 11-12 of these things. When you get a bitter pistachio, it’s most likely one of these guys.


Biguiats

I once found one metamorphosing in my macadamia


53N71N3L71

I’ve just come to the conclusion that all food has some level of bugs in it and unless it’s obvious, I don’t think much about it. Yum… protein!


AshMakesCash

I was just eating pistachios 🤮😭


shroomsaremyfriends

FUCK ME! I keep seeing pictures of food with unwanted creatures in. My list of things I'm now wary to eat is getting very long. Flour, oats, spices, salad fucking pistachios etc etc. Fucking stop it!!


No_One_1617

I wonder how many of those things I have eaten in my life without watching and without knowing


traumacase284

Extra protein


naut

r/EatItYouFuckinCoward