There must be a way to can pesto safely. You can buy it in stores. Anyone
have any ideas?

Andie Z

"Andie Z" > wrote in message
news:K6ZMg.122$cf2.102@trndny07...
> There must be a way to can pesto safely. You can buy it in stores.
> Anyone
> have any ideas?
> Andie Z

No, it's too delicate. Freezing is best I think. I haven't tasted any
commercially canned stuff, including jars of just basil that taste worth a
hoot.
I prepare the pesto with lots of garlic & salt & parmesan & pine nuts or
pecans. Lots of preservatives there. Then vacuum pack little 4oz mason jars
(don't fill too full), then freeze. Lasts wonderfully well for months. Is
great on turkey sandwiches.
Edrena.

wrote:
> "Andie Z" > wrote in message
> news:K6ZMg.122$cf2.102@trndny07...
>
>>There must be a way to can pesto safely. You can buy it in stores.
>>Anyone
>>have any ideas?
>>Andie Z
>
>
> No, it's too delicate. Freezing is best I think. I haven't tasted any
> commercially canned stuff, including jars of just basil that taste worth a
> hoot.
> I prepare the pesto with lots of garlic & salt & parmesan & pine nuts or
> pecans. Lots of preservatives there. Then vacuum pack little 4oz mason jars
> (don't fill too full), then freeze. Lasts wonderfully well for months. Is
> great on turkey sandwiches.
> Edrena.
>
>
I do the same thing without the salt and use walnuts versus those nasty
pecans. (Never did like them except in a pecan pie.) I freeze a mess of
pesto on a bun sheet, then use a pizza cutter to cut it into squares of
the appropriate size, put them into single serving vac bags and vacuum
seal. Found one in the back of the freezer last year that was three
years old and covered a foccacio bread with it. Delicious. Tried some
canned stuff from the market and it was terrible, overcooked,
oversalted, and some cheap olive oil in it.

George

"George Shirley" > wrote in message
. ..
> wrote:
>> "Andie Z" > wrote in message
>> news:K6ZMg.122$cf2.102@trndny07...
>>
>>>There must be a way to can pesto safely. You can buy it in stores.
>>>Anyone
>>>have any ideas?
>>>Andie Z
>>
>> No, it's too delicate. Freezing is best I think. I haven't tasted any
>> commercially canned stuff, including jars of just basil that taste worth
>> a hoot.
>> I prepare the pesto with lots of garlic & salt & parmesan & pine nuts
>> or pecans. Lots of preservatives there. Then vacuum pack little 4oz mason
>> jars (don't fill too full), then freeze. Lasts wonderfully well for
>> months. Is great on turkey sandwiches.
>> Edrena.
>>
>>
> I do the same thing without the salt and use walnuts versus those nasty
> pecans. (Never did like them except in a pecan pie.) I freeze a mess of
> pesto on a bun sheet, then use a pizza cutter to cut it into squares of
> the appropriate size, put them into single serving vac bags and vacuum
> seal. Found one in the back of the freezer last year that was three years
> old and covered a foccacio bread with it. Delicious. Tried some canned
> stuff from the market and it was terrible, overcooked, oversalted, and
> some cheap olive oil in it.
> George
>

George - we get this question often enought, maybe we should include our
recipes/method in our FAQ? I think I'm going to try some sealed your way
next batch. Four ozzies is a little much for us to eat up all at once.
I agree that store boughten stuff ain't fit fer compost.
Oops, I forgot the parsley. I'm always forgetting the parsley. I made a
cilanto pesto once, but do not think that bright flavor came thru. I'll keep
my cilantro on the side.
I came across a jalapenyo pesto once. It's in the files if anybody's
interested.
Edrena.

George Shirley wrote:
> wrote:
>> "Andie Z" > wrote in message
>> news:K6ZMg.122$cf2.102@trndny07...
>>
>>> There must be a way to can pesto safely. You can buy it in stores.
>>> Anyone
>>> have any ideas?
>>> Andie Z
>>
>>
>> No, it's too delicate. Freezing is best I think. I haven't tasted
>> any commercially canned stuff, including jars of just basil that taste
>> worth a hoot.
>> I prepare the pesto with lots of garlic & salt & parmesan & pine
>> nuts or pecans. Lots of preservatives there. Then vacuum pack little
>> 4oz mason jars (don't fill too full), then freeze. Lasts wonderfully
>> well for months. Is great on turkey sandwiches.
>> Edrena.
>>
>>
> I do the same thing without the salt and use walnuts versus those nasty
> pecans. (Never did like them except in a pecan pie.) I freeze a mess of
> pesto on a bun sheet, then use a pizza cutter to cut it into squares of
> the appropriate size, put them into single serving vac bags and vacuum
> seal. Found one in the back of the freezer last year that was three
> years old and covered a foccacio bread with it. Delicious. Tried some
> canned stuff from the market and it was terrible, overcooked,
> oversalted, and some cheap olive oil in it.
>
> George
>


I've eaten pesto that was about 10 years old from the bottom of the
bottomless chest freezer. It was excellent. Just stored in a little
round Tupperware container. (I use roasted sunflower seeds instead of
pine nuts)

Bob

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
...
> George Shirley wrote:
>> wrote:
>>> "Andie Z" > wrote in message
>>> news:K6ZMg.122$cf2.102@trndny07...
>>>
>>>> There must be a way to can pesto safely. You can buy it in stores.
>>>> Anyone
>>>> have any ideas?
>>>> Andie Z
>>>
>>>
>>> No, it's too delicate. Freezing is best I think. I haven't tasted any
>>> commercially canned stuff, including jars of just basil that taste worth
>>> a hoot.
>>> I prepare the pesto with lots of garlic & salt & parmesan & pine nuts
>>> or pecans. Lots of preservatives there. Then vacuum pack little 4oz
>>> mason jars (don't fill too full), then freeze. Lasts wonderfully well
>>> for months. Is great on turkey sandwiches.
>>> Edrena.
>>>
>>>
>> I do the same thing without the salt and use walnuts versus those nasty
>> pecans. (Never did like them except in a pecan pie.) I freeze a mess of
>> pesto on a bun sheet, then use a pizza cutter to cut it into squares of
>> the appropriate size, put them into single serving vac bags and vacuum
>> seal. Found one in the back of the freezer last year that was three years
>> old and covered a foccacio bread with it. Delicious. Tried some canned
>> stuff from the market and it was terrible, overcooked, oversalted, and
>> some cheap olive oil in it.
>>
>> George
>>
>
>
> I've eaten pesto that was about 10 years old from the bottom of the
> bottomless chest freezer. It was excellent. Just stored in a little
> round Tupperware container. (I use roasted sunflower seeds instead of
> pine nuts)
>
> Bob


with this method in mind, I do the same for all my fresh herbs. My growing
season is just about over and fresh stuff doesn't do well (for me) in the
house, so I process it for the winter. Basil gets churned up with olive
oil in the blender and I put it in to little zip lock bags, freeze flat on a
pan. I did the same with some cilantro I bought - didn't want to waste it,
knew I'd only use it in salsa (and have more to make), so I churned it up
with lime juice and froze it flat. I also did dill weed in vinegar. Any
time I want some fresh tasting herbs, I break off a corner of the frozen
stuff - it tastes fresh and is way better than anything dried. Dried is so
boring.

I still have oregano and rosemary to do - and lots more basil. I'm a basil
fiend!!

Kathi

In article <K6ZMg.122$cf2.102@trndny07>,
"Andie Z" > wrote:

> There must be a way to can pesto safely. You can buy it in stores. Anyone
> have any ideas?
>
> Andie Z

Not recommended. The commercial producers add citric acid, I think.
And pressure canning is going to cook it. And there are no tested
recipes for it. And pesto is raw. Freeze the base. Bob or George
makes the base and freezes it in a ZipLoc bag, IIR. Break off as much
as you need when you need it. Or freeze in ice cube trays. General
practice seems to omit the cheese until serving time.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller
http://jamlady.eboard.com

In article >,
zxcvbob > wrote:

> I've eaten pesto that was about 10 years old from the bottom of the
> bottomless chest freezer. It was excellent. Just stored in a little
> round Tupperware container. (I use roasted sunflower seeds instead of
> pine nuts)
>
> Bob

You got any bodies in that thing? JAYzuzz!! LOL!
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller
http://jamlady.eboard.com

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article <K6ZMg.122$cf2.102@trndny07>,
> "Andie Z" > wrote:
>
>
>>There must be a way to can pesto safely. You can buy it in stores. Anyone
>>have any ideas?
>>
>>Andie Z
>
>
> Not recommended. The commercial producers add citric acid, I think.
> And pressure canning is going to cook it. And there are no tested
> recipes for it. And pesto is raw. Freeze the base. Bob or George
> makes the base and freezes it in a ZipLoc bag, IIR. Break off as much
> as you need when you need it. Or freeze in ice cube trays. General
> practice seems to omit the cheese until serving time.

I've done it both ways, frozen without the cheese and with the cheese.
Doesn't seem to make any difference in the quality to my taste so I do
it up complete and then freeze and bag.

George