# Pesto pretenders



## mikeyB (Apr 14, 2018)

For lovers of Pesto, a handy low carb dressing for Italian food, Which magazine has found a few surprises in supermarket Pesto. Remember, the traditional ingredients are Basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and grated Parmesan or pecorino.

Some supermarkets are using cheaper ingredients, such as cashew nuts, and the cheaper grana panado cheese, and sunflower oil. Also including fillers such as bamboo fibres and nut flower, potato flakes, with sugar added to Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Co-op recipes. Tesco’s also contains water as a filler.

Only Waitrose comes out unscathed.

Even Premium products advertised as “pesto alla Genovese” may contain added ingredients. Sugar, vegetable fibres and bamboo are added to Tesco’s, Morrison’s, and Sainsbury’s pesto alla Genovese, ingredients anathema to Genoese.

So if you want some Pesto, take a close look at the ingredients. Nobody expects sugar and potato in Pesto.

I don’t know if they tested Aldi and Lidl, but knowing them I expect theirs to be the real thing, but be careful.


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## Robin (Apr 14, 2018)

Aargh! Just read the ingredients on my Sacla 'Classic Italian Pesto Made in Italy' Yup, you've guessed it, it's got those 'classic Italian ingredients' Sunflower oil and Cashew nuts in it! ( and Gran Padano!)


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## everydayupsanddowns (Apr 14, 2018)

Robin said:


> Aargh! Just read the ingredients on my Sacla 'Classic Italian Pesto Made in Italy' Yup, you've guessed it, it's got those 'classic Italian ingredients' Sunflower oil and Cashew nuts in it! ( and Gran Padano!)


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## everydayupsanddowns (Apr 14, 2018)

We sometimes get bags of basil in our veg box. Making up a pesto with a hand blender was one of our preferred methods of using it up as it could be quite hard to get through a whole bagful otherwise.

‘Course one of ours has gone vegan now, so our Parmesan-munching days are over - parmesan isn’t even vegetarian!


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## SB2015 (Apr 14, 2018)

How disappointing that the Sacla one is also pretending.  It does look like the only way is to make your own.  I shall have to work on OH to make a job lot on his weeks to cook, so that I can rescue some from the freezer on my weeks.


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## Radders (Apr 14, 2018)

Would the amount of potato flakes actually make any difference to someone’s levels, given the small amount of pesto normally consumed?


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## scousebird (Apr 14, 2018)

I've got a jar of Pesto di Pistachio that I bought in M&S (ingredients listed in Italian then English) Pistachio, extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper.


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## mikeyB (Apr 15, 2018)

I don’t think the potato flakes will make any difference to BG levels, it’s more the principle. It’s basically fraud.


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## mikeyB (Apr 15, 2018)

scousebird said:


> I've got a jar of Pesto di Pistachio that I bought in M&S (ingredients listed in Italian then English) Pistachio, extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper.


Aye, I was referring to Pesto alla Genovese. Yours sounds a bit like posh peanut butter, with different nuts and olive oil


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## SB2015 (Apr 15, 2018)

scousebird said:


> I've got a jar of Pesto di Pistachio that I bought in M&S (ingredients listed in Italian then English) Pistachio, extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper.


That sounds a good option.


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