I have eaten pistachio nuts (roasted, salted) many times and I like it. I also like pistachio flavoured ice cream, but I don't find it much similar. If it wasn't named like that, I would probably not make the connection at all.
Why is the flavour so different? Is it similar to "Banana" flavoured ice cream, which often uses some chemical compounds supposed to taste like banana, but which doesn't really either?
Best Answer
Firstly, let me disagree and say that I have tasted some (amazing) pistachio ice creams that tasted very much like the actual nuts. That said, I can think of several reasons why the ice cream might taste differently from the nuts:
A final side note, which I include mostly because I find it interesting: I used to think 'banana flavour' was based on a different type of banana than commonly found in stores. Doing some searching for this question, it turns out I was wrong.