GO! Pesto™ - How To Use Pesto Straight From The Jar (2024)
by Michael Hawkins
Short answer Yes, pesto can be used straight from the jar and doesn't require cooking or heating. In fact, we actively discourage applying too much heat to pesto, as this will destroy many of the fresh flavours that producers work so hard to retain.
Long answer Almost all the jarred pestos you find in the supermarket will have been pasteurised to not only ensure that they can last a long time unopened, but so they are perfectly safe to eat straight from the jar.
There is no need to heat pesto, although too many people do. Perhaps it's understandable that people opt to take a 'belt and braces' approach, especially if they planto serve it to someone they may consider vulnerable, like babies, toddlers, or pregnant women. However, we strongly urge you not to because producers go to great lengths to keep their sauces raw, and heating (or worse still, cooking) destroys all those wonderful fresh flavours.
Once you have cooked and drained your pasta (hopefully you've saved some of the starchy pasta water, right?) the heat from the noodles will be perfectly hot enough to warm the pesto through without ruining the fresh flavours.
As for eating pesto neat, well, if that's your thing, go for it. We think its richness means you'll probably get sick of it long before you reach the bottom of the jar. Even pesto obsessives like us can't demolish a whole jar in one sitting.
Almost all the jarred pestos you find in the supermarket will have been pasteurised to not only ensure that they can last a long time unopened, but so they are perfectly safe to eat straight from the jar. There is no need to heat pesto, although too many people do.
PESTO SHOULD NEVER BE “COOKED”. If you cook Pesto Sauce, you change the make up of the fresh basil and cause it to turn darker in color. It is best to warm it up and use it at room temperature. If it needs to be thinned out, you can do so by adding a little water, chicken stock, cream or white wine.
For pesto sauces, use about one jar of 5.6-ounce sauce for a 16-ounce package of pasta. The amount of pesto sauce needed for pasta per person would be about . 75 ounces of sauce for each 2 ounce (about 1 cup cooked) serving of pasta.
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. It's also best to seal and refrigerate your jar of sauce right after using, as exposure to oxygen can speed up the spoiling process.
Also, if your pesto is too thick, feel free to thin it out with a few tablespoons of extra olive oil or water. Taste and season. Give the sauce a taste (you can dip a veggie stick or piece of bread in, if you'd like), and season with extra salt and pepper if needed.
The primary ingredients in pesto — basil and olive oil — are sensitive to heat. Basil can lose its vibrant color and fresh flavor when exposed to high temperatures, turning it a darker, more muted green. Olive oil can also lose some of its health benefits and can develop a bitter taste when heated excessively.
It is better to mix your pesto to fresh boiled pasta, not for taste-reasons but for a rather practical issue: unseasoned pasta gets sticky when it cools down and you won't be able to mix it properly.
If you please to have your pasta with pesto cold, season it warm and let it then cool down.
Also, keep in mind how you'll be using it, as well as any other components of your dish or meal. Although you can eat pesto on its own, most people prefer to add it to other foods.
Pesto is the perfect sauce to enjoy with a dish of trofie (the traditional Ligurian short pasta), lasagna, potato gnocchi or as a topping for a bowl of minestrone.
What are some ways to use pesto sauce? Other than pairing it with pasta, pesto sauce is a great way to add flavoring to soups, dips, or vegetables. Add pesto sauce as a condiment on sandwiches or use it to make compound butter. Finally, adding pesto to scrambled eggs introduces bold flavoring to this simple dish.
Mix pesto into creamy dips, use it as a pizza sauce, spread it on sandwiches, add it to your favorite salads, toss it with roasted summer vegetables, and use it as a sauce for grilled chicken or grilled fish.
No, pesto does not need to be cooked. In fact, you want to put as little heat to pesto as possible, since it will darken and lose its vibrant green hue.
It is important to sterilize jars to prevent mould forming. Jars can be sterilized in a number of ways. Firstly, choose glass jars with an airtight lid. Remove any old labels and ensure they are free from cracks or chips.
There are no safe home canned recommendations for pesto. The major ingredients in pesto are non-acidic and could support the growth of disease causing bacteria like clostridium botulinum. Remember low-acid foods need to be processed in a pressure canner where the temperature reaches 240°F.
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