# I discovered pesto! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 23, 2006, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872 "2006-05-23T05:27:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WishIHadACoolName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WishIHadACoolName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WishIHadACoolName)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/21 "2006-05-24T01:08:13Z")
Mix a small amount of pesto (about a teaspoon, or a bit more) into a little dish of sour cream (about 1/3 cup). Stir. Dip what you will. I LOOOOVE this on breaded zucchini. You’re welcome. Oh yeah… grow your own basil! It’s super easy to grow, you can do it in a pot on a windowsill. I grow it in my yard, and when I harvest it, I freeze it. When I need some, I just punch the freezer bag and voila! I don’t even have to chop it. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/22 "2006-05-24T02:01:55Z")
This is a Cafe Society thread just waiting to happen (not junior modding, but C’MON!) I agree with > [@kambuckta](#): > > Make yer’ own…buy a mortar and pestle (always a good investment anyway) and buy fresh basil in season. I rarely use my mortar and pestle, but it is my FAVORITE thing in the kitchen, and when you need it for something, it is the BEST THING EVAR!!!1!. I bought mine [at ImportFoods.com](http://importfood.com/), if you’re looking for one. [Here is the page on their M&Ps in particular](http://importfood.com/mortarpestle.html). I _love_ pesto, and it is (like many other food-things) much better made at home. Storebought, premade pesto is (in my experience) rather like the grated Parmesan that comes in the green can. Sure, you can use it, but you can do SO MUCH BETTER. On the other hand, I’m not having any luck growing basil. I’m indoors, and can’t put them in the yard. I try to keep them watered, fed, and sunned, and they look like mutants. I don’t suppose anyone has any tips, do they? A plethora of basil would be like…well, I shouldn’t probably say in polite mixed company, but it would be NICE… ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/23 "2006-05-24T04:45:17Z")
> [@WishIHadACoolName](#): > > Oh yeah… grow your own basil! It’s super easy to grow, you can do it in a pot on a windowsill. I grow it in my yard, and when I harvest it, I freeze it. When I need some, I just punch the freezer bag and voila! I don’t even have to chop it. Wait, wait, wait… You can just freeze basil leaves, in their whole leafy leaf form? I have a little basil plant on my windowsill, and I pinch off leaves every now and then for salads, sauces, or sandwiches, but that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/24 "2006-05-24T15:38:43Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > I’ve never thought so. Traditional pesto is not necessarily exclusively made from pine nuts - walnuts at least are quite commonly used, and in my opinion just as good. I’ve recently been getting pre-made stuff at the supermarket here in Panama that is made with cashews. It isn’t half bad (though certainly not as good as the real thing). ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/25 "2006-05-24T19:58:32Z")
If you ever feel that you are becoming addicted to pesto, and you want to quit, call Wallace and Gromit’s Anti-Pesto Company. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/26 "2006-05-24T20:25:04Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > “roasted chicken **breasttossed** with rigatoni pasta in a basil pesto sauce” (bolding mine) I’m not sure how that would work, but it’ll definitely sell! ---
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/27 "2006-05-24T21:35:29Z")
> [@Roland Orzabal](#): > > If you do buy premade, I recommend Classico-brand Traditional Basil Pesto. It tastes, IME, the closest to the good homemade stuff. If it’s not available, make sure you read the ingredients of whatever you do end up buying, and don’t get anything that has almonds instead of pine nuts; that stuff is awful. That stuff from Classico is delicious. Half the time I make or prepare pasta sauce, I put some of this in. It doesn’t matter if it’s a tomato sauce or cream sauce – it always works well. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/28 "2006-05-24T21:40:48Z")
Try pesto on pizza in place of the usual tomato sauce. Yummy! ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/29 "2006-05-24T22:02:34Z")
I remember the first time I had pesto. College… on a pizza… I was confused. ---
**Author:** ![WishIHadACoolName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WishIHadACoolName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WishIHadACoolName)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/30 "2006-05-25T00:11:27Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Wait, wait, wait… You can just freeze basil leaves, in their whole leafy leaf form? I have a little basil plant on my windowsill, and I pinch off leaves every now and then for salads, sauces, or sandwiches, but that’s it. Yes, I freeze the few herbs I grow. In PA, buying them fresh in the grocery store is obscene. I also freeze dill and thyme. I use a lot of thyme in the colder months (it adds a wonderful depth to homemade soup stock). I don’t even pinch the leaves off before I freeze them. Rinse 'em, dry 'em, toss the whole “branch” (stem?) in a freezer bag. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872/31 "2006-05-26T00:09:02Z")
In summers past, I used to make what I called (but weren’t quite) “Cold Pizzas.” I would buy a prepared pizza crust (“Boboli” comes to mind), spread it with a locally-bought jar of basil pesto mixed with a container of sour cream, evenly (as best you can) distribute a container of ricotta cheese over it, and bake it for a few minutes until the ricotta was soft and spreadable, more or less. I would then top it with lots of cold chopped vegetables: tomatoes, scallions, garlic, radishes, carrots, spinach leaves, radiccio, finely chopped broccoli and cauliflower…whatever sounded good (and the more variety, the better). If I wanted any kind of meat (which I usually do on pizza), I would use a can of smoked oysters or mussels, and some mashed sardines. Top with feta cheese crumbles, drizzle liberally with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and enjoy. It didn’t stick together very well, but it was delicious. I should make another one of those. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-discovered-pesto/357872.md?page=1)