TikTok craze leads to worldwide pistachio shortage

The Dubai chocolate craze, which started at the end of 2023, shows little sign of abating, with chocolatiers and home cooks alike serving up their version of this delicious treat. The original contained crisp kataifi combined with pistachio paste enrobed in milk chocolate, and while others have varied the crispy part and the type of chocolate, one constant remains: pistachios. This had led to a worldwide shortage of the nut.

The US and Iran are the top exporters of pistachios but they cannot keep up with demand. A poor harvest in the US last made the problem worse, and the price of raw pistachios has leapt by nearly 50%. I accidentally discovered this last week when I grabbed a jar of Sicilian pistachio paste while at my favorite Italian market. I didn’t bring my reading glasses into the store because I just needed to grab a couple of things and did not think I needed to read any labels. It wasn’t until the paste rang up at the cash register that I realized a small jar was $20 USD. It is phenomenally delicious so that cushioned the sticker shock.

I have my fingers crossed the harvest this year is good and the Dubai chocolate craze dies down, because pistachios are my favorite tree nut. Thanks to Jenny’s generosity, I recently sampled one chocolatier’s version of the famous candy bar and loved it. I am tempted to try it at home and discovered that the EYB Library already contains a handful of Dubai chocolate recipes, including the Valentine’s Dubai chocolate bar from Great British Chefs pictured above.