Pesto
About Pesto
Pesto is an Italian product marketed and loved worldwide. But as it infuses in local cuisines, you see multiple variants that suit the needs. Flavours and ingredients have been modified much and much. So, you have the choice to go for traditional basil pesto or the flavour you like to have. If you are buying it for the first time, look at the ingredients, and you will see no difficulty in making a choice.
While looking at the ingredients, you might think that all these products have distinct and strong flavours. But you need not worry about the final result as that is the real punch. Basil, garlic, nuts, and oils all mixed together give you the perfect topping for your dishes. The real question that pops up is if any variant is fine with all the dishes. And the answer is yes and no both. It all depends on your taste. Some of you may like tomato flavoured dips, or some like classic ones as a top pesto pasta sauce. So, why not experiment a little with your recipes and try a few of your favourite flavours one by one. Before that, you may like to read a bit to validate your purchase.
Types of pesto sauce
You may be only aware of the classic oil, garlic, pine nuts, basil, and cheese pesto, but this is just one type of Italian pesto. Other than this, you can have a Modenese variant that has Lardo instead of Reggiano as the fat ingredients. For those not aware, Lardo is a kind of cured salumi from pure pig fat. This one is served on bread or pizza, not pasta. Then, we have the Trapanese version, also known as summer sauce, to toss with pasta. It has almonds, not pine nuts and cherry tomatoes, as one extra ingredient. Another type is Agrumi perfect for seafood as it got an addition of lemon or oranges. The last variant is pesto Rosso which has a delicious smokey flavour. It has a rich red colour and goes with pasta, gnocchi, steak or pork.
Homemade pesto
When you see the term homemade in any best-jarred pesto, you might wonder about the difference. Well, it is about shelf life. Homemade versions may not have preservatives added to increase their life in your refrigerator. Probably seven days after opening the jar is the maximum. So, when you are about to buy these variants or something that say fresh, you need to be careful about the quantity. Otherwise, half of the jar may go to waste, and you obviously do not want that to happen to your favourite sauce. Also, do not forget to check the storage and handling instructions when buying pesto online in UAE. Reading the packaging may help you cook your recipes better.
Vegan pesto
Packaged foods often are limited to a non-vegetarian or vegetarian diet. As veganism followers are increasing, you can find vegan products online. Also, there are people who are pescatarian – those who eat seafood but not meat. So, they can also go for vegetarian or vegan options, whichever they like most. If you have tasted another variant before, you will not find any difference. There will be the same infused flavours, taste, budget, brands, and everything else. You can explore our food & beverages section to check out a vegan product, and we are sure you will find what you are looking for.
Barilla pesto
Barilla is one of the premium brands for pesto products. Pesto lovers may be familiar with this brand, and those who are not can just memorise this name as you are going to get everything here. They claim their products to be gluten-free, having no sugar and no preservatives. You can even check out the products as vegan, soy-free, peanut-free, gluten-free, and many more customisations. Apart from Barilla, there are other brands you can rely on, such as Good Food, Deliciously Ella, Buitoni, and Clara ole. You can find them all on our shopping platform, Shops.ae.
Tips on how to buy Pesto
Whoever said food is science couldn’t be more correct. Then, buying some surely needs you to be a little careful. The one tip that can make your purchase stand out is “look at the ingredients list”. Every other product is different from each other due to the flavours and ingredients added to it. Brands, manufacturers, local regions, everything come into existence after that. But before you stumble upon many products available online, we would like to give you some clarity. Here are some fine points you would want to read before grabbing any variant of pesto.
- Your purpose – No doubt pesto is a versatile ingredient, but different products serve differently. Some are good as dips, some are pasta variants, while some are just all-in-one. If you know pesto, you would know what is this about. But if you are a pesto beginner, you might need one or two purchases to acquire the taste and set it with your dishes.
- The health meter – Energy, fat, and salt content of the product may tell you the health meter of the product. This varies with people. Something that fits children in your house might not be fit for you because you both have different metabolism. You can have more than one type of product in your fridge, and that is completely fine.
- Check the flavour – Apart from traditional pesto available online, you will find different flavours. For example, tomatoes pesto, calabrese variant, chilli one, and many more. You can either have a classic version or try flavours once in a while. Once you see products online, you will wonder about the types of pesto infused sauces, dips, and snacks available. You could even buy hummus snacks pesto. So, check them out and see if you would like to add some to your food cart.
- The choice of diet – You may be vegan, vegetarian, or non-vegetarian. You might already know that the red dot in the packaging means non-vegetarian, and the green dot means vegetarian. However, vegan doesn’t have a special colour marking. Some restaurants and manufacturers use VE for vegan food but prefer to read the packaging content.
- Check for offers – Do not forget to grab a discount whenever you can. So, check the combo offers, discounted section, and new launch prices. You can even try a new brand only if it looks authentic. Remember to grab a small jar when trying a new product because what if you don’t like the flavour. Your money would be wasted. If the brand provides sachets, that would be best.
We hope these tips would make your purchase good enough for your recurring purchase. We know you might have followed these tips anyways, but having a bulleted list in your mind or on your phone won’t harm you. This way, you won’t forget any point, and your food cart would be perfect always. You can hop on to our shopping platform for buying the top pesto sauce or the best vegan pesto. We have got every variant on our product shelves. Just search for it, and you will get what you want.
Question & Answer
Where to buy pesto online in UAE?
You can rely on many popular brands while searching for quality products. Check out the Barilla brand that claims to have been made with 100% fresh Italian basil. Also, it has no preservatives and is gluten-free. Other than that, you can also explore variants of the Saclo brand. You will find classic basil pesto, sun-dried, vegan type, chilli pesto, and many more. Other brands are Thermomix, Filippo Berio, Classico, and Costco – you will find them all upon your visit to our shopping search engine .
Is pesto healthy for weight loss?
Not all pesto could be included in your weight management program. You will find a special product named skinny pesto, having half the calories than the traditional pesto. You can buy this one to include in your diet plan for weight loss. If you are suspicious about the taste, then you would be happy to read that the ingredients used in the skinny version are the same. Every brand has its own recipe for making a product with fewer calories. Some use little quantity of fat while some pour less cheese or even both are less. You have to check the ingredients in this case.
Is fresh pesto healthy?
It’s not the fresh pesto but the ingredients that make this or any product healthy. Looking into that, pesto usually has fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, and lemon as the main ingredients. This list itself is healthy enough as olive oil has healthy fats, garlic is medicinal, basil is antioxidant, and lemon is loaded with vitamin C, fibre, and other benefits. However, the same ingredients can do you wrong if the ingredients are of low quality. Therefore, buying from an authentic platform has its fair share of benefits besides checking the health meter of pesto.
Can pesto be eaten cold?
Yes, you can do that. Many of us even take the pesto sauce directly from the jar and pour it over our pasta. As your pasta would be warm or just out from the heat, it would be enough to make the pesto come at room temperature. You don’t have to worry about having hot and cold mixtures at one time. However, it all depends on your taste buds. The temperature and flavours are all up to you. But the answer to the question is yes – there is no harm in eating cold pesto unless you see a special remark on the packaging. You must read the handling instructions and expiry details very carefully.