# Blog of Pesto

A blog comparing every pesto I could buy

## Technique

### Setup:

The Pasta was Barilla Gemelli or Girandole. The pesto was mixed with starchy pasta-water to try and create a creamy emulsion that would coat the pasta better.

### Ratings

Each pesto is compared in these categories:

 - taste: how it tasted
 - consistency: How was the consistency, did it form a proper emulsion with the pasta water
 - ingredients: what's in it, how much of it, and how is it 
 - price: how expensive is this pesto
 - size: how much is in the glass


## The actual reviews:

### Bernbacher "Pesto Calabrese"
*Date:* 2022-08-02

*Eaten with:* Gemelli.


*ingredients:* Red and yellow peppers (52%), Sunflower oil, Grana Padano Cheese (7%), Almonds (4.7%), Potato flakes, Salt, Lactic acid, spices.


| Category    | Rating / Value |
|-------------|----------------|
| taste       | 1/5            |
| consistency | 2/5            |
| ingredients | 3/5            |
| price       | 2.29€          |
| size        | 140g           |

*notes:* This pesto lacked the spicieness I expect from a calabrese pesto. It was not spicy at all, in fact it had a very mild taste. In the context of pesto you could even say it did not taste like much at all. It also did not form the best emulsion and had a grainy texture, presumably from the shredded almonds. Adding Sriracha to it significantly improved the flavour. Make of that what you wish. This is not really surprising, as this pesto consists of around 30% sunflower oil, without a main ingredient carrying much taste (peppers). It's definitely a below-average to bad pesto.

**Final verdict:** ★★☆☆☆

*images:* DSC_1189.jpg

### Barilla "Pesto Vegan" (Green)
*Date:* 2022-08-02

*Eaten with:* Gemelli.


*ingredients:* Basil (35.6%), Sunflower oil, Cashews, Glucose syrup, water, modified cornstarch, salt, natural aroma, olive oil, sugar, lactic acid.


| Category    | Rating / Value |
|-------------|----------------|
| taste       | 5/5            |
| consistency | 5/5            |
| ingredients | 3/5            |
| price       | 3.59€          |
| size        | 195g           |

*notes:* This is the classic, creamy, supermarket "Pesto a la Genovese" but vegan (and even more creamy). The taste is a 5/5, it has every element you'd expect from a "Pesto a la Genovese", even though it definitely isn't, as it's missing pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. The taste is one thing, but I definitely can't understate how well it reacted to the pasta water (probably due to the modified starches). It was superbly creamy throughout and coated even the more challenging Gemelli beautifully. Sure, it could have better ingredients (more olive oil, better nuts) but you can't argue with the result. Therefore it deserves the full 5 star rating.

**Final verdict:** ★★★★★

*images:* DSC_1194.jpg

### Cucina "Premium Pesto alla Genovese"
*Date:* 2022-08-04

*Eaten with:* Girandole


*ingredients:* Basil (44%), Olive oil (18%), Sunflower oil, Grana Padano (6%), Pine nuts (4%), Cashews (4%), Pecorino Romano, salt, sugar, garlic, lactic acid, ascorbic acid.


| Category    | Rating / Value |
|-------------|----------------|
| taste       | 4/5            |
| consistency | 4/5            |
| ingredients | 4/5            |
| price       | ???            |
| size        | 190g           |

*notes:* This pesto tasted pretty good, although I missed the creaminess of the cheese (as there is almost no cheese at all in this pesto, and nothing to replace it). There was a considerable ammount of visible fibers, almost looking like straw-fibres. Even though it contains a lot of oil, it still coated the paste well and did not separate when I added the pasta water. This pesto definitely has a more "traditional" or "organic" look to it, but it can't quite pull it off. I rate it four out of five stars.

**Final verdict:** ★★★★☆




### Bertolli "Pesto Calabrese"
*Date:* 2022-08-05

*Eaten with:* Girandole


*ingredients:* red bell peppers (35%), ricotta (26%), sunflower oil, sugar, pecorino romano, grana padano, potato flakes, tomato puree, onion, salt, olive oil (1%), carrot powder, citric acid, yeast extract, cayenne pepper, celery seeds, herbs, spices, aroma. 


| Category    | Rating / Value |
|-------------|----------------|
| taste       | 5/5            |
| consistency | 5/5            |
| ingredients | 5/5            |
| price       | ???            |
| size        | 185g           |

*notes:* This pesto has it all. Flavour, creaminess, ingredients, looks, price, etc. It's a really good pesto! Five stars!

**Final verdict:** ★★★★★

*images:* DSC_1195.jpg, DSC_1198.jpg

### Barilla "Pesto alla Genovese"
*Date:* 2022-08-06

*Eaten with:* Girandole


*ingredients:* sunflower oil, basil (30%), cashews, Parmiggiano Reggiano (5%), corn fiber, whey powder, salt, milk protein, olive oil, sugar, basil extract, natural aroma, lactic acid, garlic.


| Category    | Rating / Value |
|-------------|----------------|
| taste       | 5/5            |
| consistency | 5/5            |
| ingredients | 4/5            |
| price       | 3.29€          |
| size        | 190g           |

*notes:* This is a good pesto. It might be a little bit more salty than the vegan option, so keep that in mind when salting your noodles, but I'd argue it's comparably to the vegan pesto in all regards. In my opinion, the vegan version tastes a little bit better, but that's only marginally. It's as creamy as you'd expect from a "real" pesto alla genovese, (not as much as the vegan version, but to be honest, that's not a realistic benchmark). My only real issue with this pesto is oily it is, but luckily this doesn't really impact flavour or consistency. Of course it's missing the pine nuts, but to be hones, I didn't really notice. 

**Final verdict:** ★★★★★

*images:* DSC_1193.jpg, DSC_1199.jpg

### Terre di Liguiria "Pesto alla Genovese"

*Date:* 2022-07-25

*Eaten with:* Gemelli


*ingredients:* Sunflower oil, basil (20%), pine nuts (15%), native olive oil (6%), Parmiggiano Reggiano, salt, whey, garlic, wine vinegar, citric acid, lactic acid. 


| Category    | Rating / Value |
|-------------|----------------|
| taste       | 4/5            |
| consistency | 3/5            |
| ingredients | 4/5            |
| price       | 4.79€          |
| size        | ???g           |

*notes:* This seems like a good pesto on paper. Basil, real pine nuts, Parmiggiano Reggiano, olive oil. But that's only on paper. I guess that they can do this due to just low quality ingredients. It's straw-y, salty, a little to oily and has a lot of whole pine nuts in it (I know that they are in there, stop showing me them! I want them incorporated into the pesto!). Sadly, this pesto ain't it chief. Especially considering the price.

**Final verdict:** ★★☆☆☆


### Gut & Günstig "Pesto Rosso"
*Date:* 2022-08-09

*Eaten with:* Girandole

*ingredients:* tomato pulp (34%), sunflower oil, tomato puree (14%), glucose syrup, Grana Padano (5%), cashews (4%), basil (3%), salt, starch, Aceto Balsamico di Modena, aroma, Pecorino Romano (1%), sugar, bread crumbs, whey protein, garlic powder, citric acid.


| Category    | Rating / Value |
|-------------|----------------|
| taste       | 5/5            |
| consistency | 5/5            |
| ingredients | 5/5            |
| price       | 1.19€          |
| size        | 190g           |

*notes:* This is a saucy, creamy, tangy, fruity, and sweet pesto masterpiece. You can even put it on bread just fine. It's that good! And for an unbeatable price too! The easiest five-star raiting so far! 

*images:* DSC_1228.jpg, DSC_1229.jpg

**Final verdict:** ★★★★★

### Barilla "Pesto Rosso"
*Date:* 2022-08-14

*Eaten with:* Girandole


*ingredients:* tomato pulp (34.9%), sunflower oil, concentrated tomato puree (15%), glucose syrup, Grana Padano, cashews, salt, basil, Aceto Balsamico di Modena, (2%), whey powder, Pecorino Romano, sugar, rice starch, garlic, lactic acid, aroma.


| Category    | Rating / Value |
|-------------|----------------|
| taste       | 5/5            |
| consistency | 5/5            |
| ingredients | 5/5            |
| price       | 3.29€          |
| size        | 200g           |

*notes:* This pesto tastes very similar to the Gut & Günstig Pesto Rosso, but maybe a little more cheesy. I guess I like this one a tiny bit better, but sadly it costs almost three times as much, and that really isn't justifiable. Therefore this only gets four stars from me.

**Final verdict:** ★★★★☆

*images:* DSC_1224.jpg, DSC_1225.jpg


### Ja "Pesto Verde"
*Date:* 2022-08-14

*Eaten with:* Girandole


*ingredients:* basil (45.2%), sunflower oil (25.9%), olive oil (9.7%), cashews (6%), pine nuts (4%), Parmiggiano Reggiano (4%),  Pecorino Romano (2%), salt, sugar, lactic acid, garlic.


| Category    | Rating / Value |
|-------------|----------------|
| taste       | 3/5            |
| consistency | 4/5            |
| ingredients | 4/5            |
| price       | 1.19€          |
| size        | 190g           |

*notes:* This is an okay pesto. It's less nutty and cheesy than expected, but then again, it doesn't claim to be anything but "Verde". It's a little bit too oily for my taste, but that's not really a problem. It's a pretty good deal for the price, there's a lot of basil (and not of bad quality!) this alone brings a lot of flavour to the whole thing. Real pine nuts and real cheese (although not that much) make this a pretty good deal for the price!

**Final verdict:** ★★★★☆

*images:* DSC_1223.jpg


### Template Make "Name" (Variant)
*Date:* date

*Eaten with:* noodles.


*ingredients:* 


| Category    | Rating / Value |
|-------------|----------------|
| taste       | /5            |
| consistency | /5            |
| ingredients | /5            |
| price       |             |
| size        | g           |

*notes:* 

**Final verdict:** ★☆