GO! Pesto™ - Cheap Pesto - How Is Pesto So Cheap? (2024)
by Michael Hawkins
Short answer As is the case with everything we buy from supermarkets, economies of scale and the quality and quantity of ingredients explain how they can sell products, including pesto, unfathomably cheaply.
Long answer The process of making pesto on a commercial scale isn't too dissimilar from how you'd knock up a small batch at home. What is very different, though, is how the size of the operation, the choice of ingredients, and the resulting cost savings enable supermarkets to sell pesto at such low prices.
Economies of scale The buying power of huge multinational supermarkets cannot be underestimated. Being able to procure everything from glass jars and labels to ingredients in the millions of units brings costs down hugely. The only way Lidl has the slightly dubious honour of selling the UK’s cheapest supermarket pesto for just 55p and still turning a profit is through their sheer size. Artisan pesto makers would struggle to just buy an empty jar for that sort of price.
Along with buying power comes efficiency savings. Having a dedicated production site with high-tech, computer-controlled machinery means fewer people are involved in the operation and it is cheaper to run. On the flip side, small scale producers will tend to do many things by hand. If they're sharing a production space with others, there is the hugely time-consuming issue of constantly washing down equipment and re-calibrating things like labelling machines to suit other producers' jars.
Ingredients Plenty of TV channels and YouTubers have gone inside pesto factories to see how things are done. The BBC series Food Unwrapped saw Matt Tebbutt make an enviable road trip around the Italian region of Liguria to find out how mass-market pesto is made. He discovered that the biggest cost savings are to be had by sourcing the cheapest possible ingredients. As you might expect, it all starts with basil.
Basil The Ligurian countryside is home to dozens of small-scale producers who still farm basil the traditional way. It's backbreaking work, with skilled labourers spending up to 8-hours a day lying on wooden planks, hand-picking young basil plants, and wrapping them in specially branded paper to prove their quality and provenance.
The basil produced in this region, Basilico Genovese, is so unique that in 2006 it was granted protected designation of origin (PDO) status, which safeguards it from inferior copycats. Its scarcity, plus the fact that the plants are picked roots, soil, and all to ensure that only juvenile leaves make it into pesto, makes it extraordinarily expensive and something that only premium, artisan pesto makers can justify using.
In a promotional video, one of the biggest pesto producers, Sacla, offered a brief glimpse into how they farm basil very differently. Their seemingly never-ending fields of basil are produced just outside the Ligurian borders and, therefore, not afforded the same PDO status. Combine harvesters cultivate the leaves from the top of the plant, picking them and leaving the plants intact so they can grow a fresh set of leaves and be harvested again and again.
Cheese The official basil pesto recipe (as determined by the Pesto Genovese Consortium) must contain Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Fiore Sardo, both of which have the same PDO status as Genovese basil. Significant cost savings can be had by using the much cheaper Grana Padano or Pecorino Romano cheeses, which haven't been aged as long and are therefore considerably more affordable. Some producers cut corners further by simply using a generic "hard cheese."
Oil Oil is another ingredient where huge cost savings can be made. While small producers use the highest-quality extra-virgin olive oil, big producers replace some or all of it with much cheaper sunflower oil.
Nuts A similar trick is used with the choice of nut. Italian pine nuts are considered the finest in the world and are therefore eye-wateringly expensive. To make cost savings, many big producers source their pine nuts from China. Not a big issue, you might think, but these pine nuts are notorious for leaving a metallic aftertaste for some people, and that can last weeks. Some companies use the much cheaper cashew nuts, while othersleave out nuts altogether.
Salt The official basil pesto recipe dictates that only expensive sea salt from Trapani should be used. It has a superior taste to standard table salt, which can often be cut with anti-caking agents like the slightly scary sounding-sodium ferrocyanide.
Garlic Even the choice of garlic can make a big difference in the final taste of a pesto. The small mountain village of Vessalico in the north-west of Italy is garlic's spiritual home, but it sets artisan producers back at least 4 or 5 times as much as sub-standard Chinese garlic which Tesco has previously been slammed for selling.
Other bulking ingredients The meat industry is notorious for increasing the weight (and therefore cost) of their products by injecting them with brine. Sadly, the sauce industry isn't much better. A Which? investigation found some pesto producers bulking out their sauces with all kinds of cheap ingredients such as water, potato flakes, bamboo fibres, and sugar.
Some producers cut corners further by simply using a generic "hard cheese." Oil is another ingredient where huge cost savings can be made. While small producers use the highest-quality extra-virgin olive oil, big producers replace some or all of it with much cheaper sunflower oil.
Both homemade and shop-bought pesto sauces have their advantages. If convenience is your top priority, then store-bought pesto is right for you, but if freshness is your main concern, then nothing can compete with making pesto yourself.
Because it's an oil-based sauce, it will spoil and go rancid after a while if exposed to air. So if you see it start get exposed to air, you can top the jar with some high quality olive oil to cut off contact with air.
Barilla's Creamy Genovese Pesto Sauce is imported from Italy and made with high-quality ingredients like fragrant Italian basil and freshly grated Italian cheese for a delicious creamy texture that puts a twist on classic pesto sauce.
It's very salty because it's a concentrate, so it's recommended to dilute the pesto with an equal amount of olive oil. That means, technically, you'll get about 8 ounces of pesto out of one jar. Complementing the basil flavor was a good balance of cheese, nuts, acidity, and olive oil.
It is healthy for you as long as you eat it moderately. Traditionally, you can make pesto from extra virgin olive oil, basil, parmesan cheese, garlic, and pine nuts. However, every brand has a different mix of ingredients, which means each pesto sauce product has a varying number of calories, fat content and sodium.
The most common reason for pesto tasting bitter is that the olive oil is past its best and has started to turn rancid. If the pesto has been made in a food processor or blender, there's also the possibility that it has turned bitter from the crude, sheering action of the blades.
Anything canned/jarred is heat treated to various extents to create the vacuum and make it shelf stable. Fresh is always better. Even if it is “fresh” from a supermarket's deli, it may have been frozen or components of it frozen. Or preservatives may be added like citric acid.
While green pesto tends to taste very earthy, red pesto is incredibly bright with rich notes of umami. What gives red pesto its bright hue is a mix of sun-dried tomatoes and roasted red peppers. It's delicious on its own, or paired with just about any protein: grilled chicken, shrimp, steak, or meatballs.
If your pesto has turned brown instead of green, that's another clear sign that it's rancid. And there's always the smell test: it will have a strong sour smell once it turns. But as always, it's better to err on the side of caution and throw the pesto out if you've got any doubts.
You can freeze pesto in ice cube trays or in glass jars or other freezer-safe containers. Different methods will yield slightly different results; what works for you will depend on how you plan on storing and using your pesto. Pesto will keep in the freezer for up to six months.
Just like any pasta sauce, it is best to store your pesto jar in the fridge after opening. While your pesto can safely reside in your pantry until its first use, forgetting to refrigerate it after opening is guaranteed to spoil it long before the five-day mark.
This fresh and fragrant pasta sauce is served uncooked, so choose a pasta shape that won't overwhelm it. Similar to oil-based sauces, pesto is served best with longer cuts of pasta, like the corkscrew shape of Fusilli. Pesto works best with Bucatini, Capellini, thinner Spaghettini, and Fettuccine.
Pesto is higher in calories than some sauces but it's also made with super-healthy ingredients, like basil, olive oil and nuts. I find it's a great way to add more flavor to pasta dishes and even vegetables and proteins.
Pesto pasta is easy to make and full of flavor. It tastes good hot or cold! The Allrecipes Test Kitchen staff are a team of culinary pros who make and vet recipes using only equipment you'd find in a home kitchen.
Add a touch of heavy cream for creaminess and a good amount of grated parmesan cheese. As always, season your sauce with salt and pepper to taste. I like to finish the sauce with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. Topping the sauce with fresh basil is also a great way to reinforce the pesto flavor.
Any variety of herbs, cheese, nuts, and other robust ingredients can be pounded in the same way to make a pesto with local flavor, just as people in Genoa used their abundant basil to make theirs. There are dozens of local variations of pesto that you can find across Italy today—more than we could possibly list.
For starters, pesto in general should last until the date on the package. Some users on Reddit claim to have used the Costco pesto for up to four months, but officially you should go by the date on the jar for safety's sake.
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