Pesto

The (also: this) pesto ( pestare of Italian, " mash ") is a pasty, uncooked sauce that is served in Italian cuisine mostly noodles, especially in the region of origin or Trofie Trenette be selected. The most famous, pesto alla genovese, contains in its original form basil mixed with pine nuts, enriched with garlic and olive oil, and cheese.

History

The now classic pesto comes from the Liguria region and was first documented there in mid- 1863.

"Take a clove of garlic, basil ( ' baxaicö ') or, When did is lacking, marjoram and parsley, grated Parmigiano cheese and Dutch and mix them with pine nuts and crush it all together in a mortar with a little butter until Reduced to a paste. Then dissolve it with good and abundant oil. Lasagna and trofie are dressed with this mash, made more liquid by adding a little hot water without salt. "

It is probably based on the Roman Moretum, a herb containing cheese sauce.

Another theory is that pesto a medieval variant of the Roman Garums also originally had, a seasoning sauce made ​​from fermented fish, mixed with their guts pickled in brine. The after Pesto is regarded as the first oily sauce.

Became internationally known after a pesto published in 1944 article in The New York Times, who first mentioned the paste in the U.S. and one in 1946 published by Angelo Pellgrini in Sunset Magazine recipe. Became famous pesto, however, only in the late 20th century, when Frank Sinatra turned his face for an advertising campaign available.

Variations

Since pesto is applicable to all pasty products as a generic term, there are a variety so named products, on modern and classic recipes based, partly far away from the origin.

• The traditional basic recipe after Pesto alla genovese is ( according to Genovese type ) of basil, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil and grated parmesan or pecorino. Except coarse salt no spice is added.
• Pesto alla siciliana (also: pesto rosso " red pesto ") is the nationally known Sicilian variant, which also includes dried tomatoes, almonds instead of pine nuts and basil less.
• Pesto alla calabrese is a particularly spicy variant of Calabria, in with pepper and paprika, a higher degree of sharpness is achieved.
• In the French Provence, the court pistou, a combination developed without the addition of pine nuts.
• In Singapore, an established method according pesto variant of the national soup laksa is sold.

Outside Italy, it sometimes happens that cold sauces are called pesto without containing any one of the original ingredients or to be even traditionally prepared. Arugula or basil instead of wild garlic are then the base, olives and mushrooms or cilantro can be used as an encore.

With many variations vegan miso paste or yeast flakes are used to expand the possibly without cheese dimensional taste.

Production

In the manufacture of hand the creamy mass should be made ​​by crushing with a mortar to excessive heat generation to avoid ( such as by the high speed of an electric device ), which adversely affects the flavor. A rapid procedure is important because oxidation can have adverse effects on odor, taste and appearance.

Trade

Industrially manufactured pesto is preserved pasteurized or preservatives. Fresh it is sold as a delicacy.

Pesto is a typical example of food design. The majority of the products expensive ingredients of the classic recipe can be completely or partially replaced by cheaper, similar tasting raw materials and the renowned name used in partly misleading imaging anyway.

Generally, it is replacement of basil by parsley, pine nuts with cashew nuts, Parmesan or Pecorino through of Grana Padano or other hard cheese and olive oil by sunflower oil or other vegetable oils. Added to can come potato flakes or beans and flavorings, acidification and preservatives.

2009 selected, called fobbed off by the Better Business Bureau foodwatch during the campaign, approximately 35,000 consumers verde pesto the Bertolli brand of Unilever Group at No. 3 for the negative price Golden puffs. The product stands for a particularly large discrepancy between advertised and actual content, so about 40 % unspecified declared oil per glass are also only 2% olive oil processed. The pine nuts shown on the product label accounted for only 2.5% of the total, while the desired taste would be achieved with cheaper cashew. Although the company wrote on its website that it would no additional preservatives in all products "traditional ," said lactic acid bacteria could be detected.

2013 awarded Stiftung Warentest in a study of 30 products from the German retail only three times a good overall.

One product contained an alarming amount of lactic acid bacteria, which acidify the taste, one was with the wrong quantities, a declared principle deficient. Once bamboo fibers were discovered that are not enabled as food or as an additive. In a designated point organic food glass -evaluated as potentially carcinogenic substance anthraquinone was detectable. A total of 80 % of the goods contain artificial flavorings.