Pesto Sauce Through History

Pesto is a sauce made out of fresh basil, garlic and pine nuts. This fresh herb-based sauce has just now gain popularity in the United States over the past twenty years, but many Italians have been eating this tasty condiment for many centuries. Pesto is very common in Italian cuisine and is now readily available in most American supermarkets.

In ancient times the Greeks were one of the first civilizations to eat a cheese spread, which they called moretum that was sometimes made with basil leaves. This was one of the first recipes that used basil in this way. Later on through culinary history the Italians took this basic recipe and then added pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and grated hard cheeses such as Parmesan. This is now the most widely used recipe in making Italian style pesto.

Using a mortar crushes pesto that is made in the traditional style. Now since the invention of the food processor and other electric choppers many use this type of equipment to achieve a smooth texture when making pesto. This is also one of the quickest and most efficient methods in making this fresh herb sauce in modern times.

Italian pesto is made with basil, olive oil, pin nuts, garlic and hard cheese. While, the Sicilian pesto is made with same ingredients, with the exception that sun dried tomatoes or red bell peppers are added. Commercial varieties of pesto sauce that are cheaper are sometimes made with either cashew nuts or walnuts instead of pine nuts and less expensive oils.

There are many Italian dishes that use pesto sauce. One of the most common dishes that use pesto is caprese. This dish is slices of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese and pesto sauce that is layered and served as a cold salad. Other types of Italian cuisine that include pesto are pastas, salads, pizza and brushcetta.

Pesto sauce can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen. Many cooks add it to soups, sandwiches and vegetarian dishes. This basil infused sauce adds a unique fresh flavor to many dishes adding an Italian flair.

Now that Italian pesto sauces have started becoming more commonplace in the American diet, many have now discovered what Italians have known for centuries. The fresh taste of basil that is infused in pesto and the smooth creamy texture adds depth to many recipes. The uses of pesto in Italian or Sicilian recipes are virtually endless.