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Pesto () is a sauce that traditionally consists of crushed
garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...
, European pine nuts, coarse salt,
basil leaves Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...
, and hard cheese such as Parmigiano-Reggiano (also known as Parmesan cheese) or Pecorino Sardo (cheese made from sheep's milk), all blended with
olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
. It originated in Genoa, the capital city of Liguria, Italy.


Etymology

''Pesto alla Genovese'' (in English: ''Genoese Pesto''); () refers to the original dish. The name pesto is the past participle of the Genoese verb (Italian: ), which means "to pound," "to crush," in reference to the original method of preparation. According to tradition, the ingredients are "crushed" or ground in a marble mortar through a circular motion of a wooden pestle. This same Latin root, through Old French, also gave rise to the English noun ''pestle''. Incidentally, the Latin root seems to be similar to the Sanskrit adjective ''pishta'' ( sa, पिष्ट, ), which means to "ground," "pounded," "crushed." Strictly speaking, ''pesto'' is a generic term for anything made by pounding; that is why the word is used for several pestos in Italy. Nonetheless, ''pesto alla genovese'' ("Genoese pesto") remains the most popular pesto in Italy and the rest of the world.


History

Pesto is thought to have had two predecessors in ancient times, going back as far as the
Roman age In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
. The ancient Romans used to eat a similar paste called moretum, which was made by crushing garlic, salt, cheese, herbs, olive oil, and vinegar (and sometimes pine nuts) together. The use of this paste in the Roman cuisine is mentioned in the '' Appendix Vergiliana'', an ancient collection of poems in which the author details the preparation of ''moretum''. During the Middle Ages, a popular sauce in the Genoan cuisine was ''agliata'', which was a mash of garlic and walnuts, as garlic was a staple in the nutrition of Ligurians, especially for the seafarers. The introduction of basil, the main ingredient of modern pesto, occurred in more recent times and is first documented only in the mid-19th century when gastronomist Giovanni Battista Ratto published his book ''La Cuciniera Genovese'' in 1863:
"Take a clove of
garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...
, basil or, when that is lacking, marjoram and
parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...
, grated Dutch and
Parmigiano Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months. It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (''Parmigiano'' i ...
cheese 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. Lasagne and Trofie are dressed with this mash, made more liquid by adding a little hot water without salt."
Although likely originating from and being domesticated in India, basil took the firmest root in the regions of Liguria, Italy, and Provence, France. It was abundant in this part of Italy, though only when in season, which is why marjoram and parsley are suggested as alternatives when basil is lacking. Ratto mentions Dutch cheese (''formaggio olandese'') instead of Pecorino Sardo since Northern European cheeses were common in Genoa at the time, thanks to the centuries-long commercial trades of the maritime republic. This recipe for ''pesto alla genovese'' was often revised in the following years (a noted revision by Emanuele Rossi occurred in 1865, only a couple of years after Ratto's ''Cuciniera''), and it shortly became a staple in the Ligurian culinary tradition, with each family often featuring its own pesto recipe (with slight differences to the traditional ingredients). This is the main reason why pesto recipes often differ from each other. Pesto recipes began circulating in American newspapers as early as the late 1920s, per a syndicated recipe by George Rector that was copyrighted in 1928. In 1944, '' The New York Times'' mentioned an imported canned pesto paste. In 1946, ''
Sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...
'' magazine published a pesto recipe by Angelo Pellegrini. Pesto did not become popular in North America until the 1980s and 1990s.


Ingredients and preparation

Pesto is traditionally prepared in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. First, garlic and pine nuts are placed in the mortar and reduced to a cream,, and then the washed and dried basil leaves are added with coarse salt and ground to a creamy consistency. Only then is a mix of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino added. To help incorporate the cheese, a little extra-virgin olive oil is added. In a tight jar (or simply in an air-tight plastic container), covered by a layer of extra-virgin olive oil, pesto can last in the refrigerator for up to a week and can be frozen for later use.


Accompaniments

Pesto is commonly used on pasta, traditionally with ''mandilli de sæa'' ("silk handkerchiefs" in the Genoese dialect), trofie or
trenette Trenette () is a type of narrow, flat, dried pasta from Genoa and Liguria; it is similar to both linguine and fettuccine. ''Trenette'' is the plural of ''trenetta'', but is only used in the plural and is probably a diminutive of the Genoese ''tre ...
. Potatoes and string beans are also traditionally added to the dish, boiled in the same pot in which the pasta has been cooked. Pasta, mixed with pesto, has become a well-known dish in many countries today, with countless recipes being posted online for "pasta with pesto." It is used in Genovese minestrone. Outside of Italy, pesto is sometimes served with sliced beef, tomatoes, and sliced boiled potatoes.


Variations

Pesto comes in a variety of recipes, some traditional and some modern, as the very noun ''pesto'' is a generic term for anything that is made by pounding. The original ''pesto alla genovese'', the quintessential pesto recipe, is made with
Genovese basil Genovese basil (in Ligurian language ''baxaicò'' or ''baxeicò'') is a cultivar of ''Ocimum basilicum'' (sweet basil). It is one of the most popular basils for culinary use, particularly for its use in pesto, the traditional Genoese sauce. The n ...
, coarse salt, garlic, Ligurian extra virgin olive oil (Taggiasco), European pine nuts (sometimes toasted) and a grated cheese like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano and Pecorino Sardo or Pecorino Romano. A proposal is under preparation by the Palatifini Association to have pesto alla genovese included in the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list.La Republica, 18 March 2018
/ref> There is a biennial international Genovese Pesto al Mortaio competition in which 100 finalists use traditional mortars and pestles as well as the above ingredients which 30 local and international judges then assess. A slightly different version of this sauce exists in Provence, where it is known as '' pistou''. In contrast to ''pesto alla genovese'', ''pistou'' is generally made with olive oil, basil, and garlic only: while cheese may be added, usually no nuts are included in a traditional ''pistou'' because no pine trees grow there to provide the nuts. ''Pistou'' is used in the typical ''soupe au pistou'', a hearty vegetable soup with ''pistou'' flavour. The sauce did not originally contain basil; cheese and olive oil were the main constituents. Outside of Italy, sometimes, almond, Brazil, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pistachio, walnut, or even peanuts are used instead of pine nuts, and sometimes coriander, dill, kale, mint, parsley, rocket, spinach, or wild garlic leaves are mixed in with the basil leaves. It has been pointed out that any combination of flavourful leaves, oily nuts, hard cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt, and lemon juice can produce a pesto-like condiment. '' Pesto alla siciliana'', sometimes called ''pesto rosso'' (red pesto), is a sauce from Sicily similar to ''pesto alla genovese'' but with the addition of tomato and almonds instead of pine nuts, and much less basil. ''Pesto alla calabrese'' is a sauce from
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
consisting of (grilled) bell peppers, black pepper, and more; these ingredients give it a distinctively spicy taste. Outside Italy, the household name ''pesto'' has been used for all sorts of cold sauces or dips, mostly without any of the original ingredients: coriander, dill, kale, mint, parsley, rocket, spinach, or wild garlic (instead of or in addition to basil), artichokes, black olives, green olives, lemon peel, lime peel, or mushrooms. In more northern countries,
ramson ''Allium ursinum'', known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amary ...
leaves are sometimes used instead of basil. In the 19th century, Genovese immigrants to Argentina brought pesto recipes with them. A Peruvian variety, known as ''tallarines verdes'' (meaning "green noodles," from Italian ''tagliarini''), is slightly creamier, lacks pine nuts (because of their rarity and prohibitive cost in Peru), may use spinach and vegetable oil (in place of olive oil), and is sometimes served with roasted potatoes and sirloin steak. Vegan pesto variations can include mixes of fresh basil, pine nuts or other nuts, olive oil, miso paste, and nutritional yeast to provide additional flavour enhancement to the dish.


Non-traditional variants of pesto

For reasons of expense or availability, almond, Brazil nut, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pistachio, walnut, or even peanuts are sometimes substituted for the traditional pine nuts. Also, while the nuts are traditionally raw, some recipes call for prior toasting or roasting. While not traditional, other nuts may be used due to the taste disturbances that some people may experience after consuming pine nuts (see pine mouth). Many online recipes in English for pesto will also list black pepper or white pepper among the ingredients, which are not present in the traditional Genoese recipe. For reasons of expense, in pestos sold in supermarkets, the extra virgin olive oil is often replaced with cheaper oils such as corn oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, safflower oil, soya oil, sunflower oil, or other vegetable oils. Some manufacturers of pesto for European supermarkets also use filling material like potato flakes or potato starch, which softens the traditionally strong flavour. Certain pesto recipes abroad replace basil or pine nuts with other herbs and greens, such as: *
Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
* Avocado and
parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...
*
Carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...
s,
coriander Coriander (;
and
cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a
Turmeric *
Ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
* Perilla leaf


See also

* Chimichurri *
Corzetti Corzetti or Croxetti ( or ) are a kind of pasta typical of the Ligurian cuisine of north-west Italy, and traditional also in the area of Novi Ligure just across the border with Piedmont in the Province of Alessandria. Corzetti originated in Ligur ...
* Green sauce * Gremolata * Kroeung * Moretum * Persillade * Pistou * Cuisine of Liguria *
List of Italian dishes This is a list of Italian dishes and foods. Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BC. Italian cuisine has its origins in Etruscan, ancient Greek, and ancien ...
*
Picada Picada () is one of the characteristic sauces and culinary techniques essential to Catalan cuisine. The technique is typically found in Catalonia and Valencia and subsequently Catalan cuisine and Valencian cuisine. It is not an autonomous sauce ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Cuisine of Liguria Food paste Italian sauces Italian words and phrases