Following on from my first "It's all in the paste" on Thai green curry, which turns out as fun to make, but not cost effective. But does freeze very well!
I got to thinking, what else can I compare, what else could be easy to make (well supposedly) yet something people don't think twice to buy in. Then it hit me! Pesto. A great quick tea, full of flavour and something that I think could be a lot easier and cheaper to make.
First off like casserole, and tagine, pesto refers to what it is made in, not what is in the mix. You can make a pesto out of anything you like, basil just appears to be the most popular and that's what I am going to.
Ingredients... Basil, pine nuts, good olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese. That's it. That is all. You can make this in bulk, but I don't think it stores for very long. Unless you love pesto so much you want to have it several times in one week, making just enough for the meal is much more cost effective. Well I assume so I guess I need to get on with it all. Also I guarantee this will take only the time it takes to cook the pasta, as you do everything whilst the pasta is cooking. It is as simple as that, but lets look at the facts. I say that now but once I go through it all maybe it is just as easy to buy in a jar.
Recipe:
Small bunch of fresh basil leaves - half a bag 40p - 28g bag = 80p
25g Pine nuts - 63p - 100 g bag = £2.50 - these aren't cheep but last a long long time, so think of this as an investment.
25g Parmesan cheese - 56p - 200g pack = £4.50 - this cheese is never cheap, but it really is worth buying. the block of cheese rather than pre-grated as it does affect the taste.
75mls good olive oil - 30p - 500ml bottle = £2.00 (the price depends on the make you buy I buy stuff at £5.99 - but that really skews the costs but if I did it would be 90p)
1 clove of garlic - say 1p for one clove
Salt and pepper - free!
Put large pan of water on for the pasta, once brought to a rolling boil (that's when the water rolls over itself when boiling), add pasta about 200gs for two people. Cooking time is according to the packet instructions.
Pasta in, heat a frying pan (small if you have one) place pine nuts in and cook until golden brown leave to cool a little. Place in a small blender (this can be done by hand in a pestle and mortar, but could take a little longer to mash down), add in all other ingredients (cutting up the Parmesan a little to make it easier to blend). Blend until smooth. Check the pasta is done, drain and leave to dry off a little. This makes enough for a good coverage on the pasta, grate over some more cheese if you are that way inclined. The b/f is so we do :) Eat and enjoy.
So now for the scale:
Faff: 1.5: - a little chopping to make the cheese fit and the cooking of pine nuts
Time: 1: 5 mins including the cooking of the pine nuts
Smug: 3: - I'd say I'm pretty pleased with it.
Forgive the picture quality I was getting ready to eat!
And what about the cost, my mix cost £1.90 (or £2.50 if you go with the more expensive oil) for about 100g of pesto, lets compare that with some shop bought pots (Sainsbury's and Waitrose.)
The contents of the jars range from 185g to 290g and prices between £1.50 and £4.99. The smaller pots are for one use only the larger ones are half the pot for 200g pasta. So costs range between £1.50 and £2.50.
So my recipe costs are on the cheaper side of things. Not the cheapest, but certainly cheaper and if you have to only buy in the basil and pine nuts then the cost is significantly less - the joys of a well stocked cupboard and fridge! £1.03 to be precise then even less just the price of basil in the end!
So what is in your shop bought pesto that makes it cheaper?
Avgerage recipe;
Sunflower Oil 44%, Basil 31%, Grana Padano Cheese (contains Lysozyme from Egg) 7%, Cashew Nuts 4%, Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3%, Potato Flakes, Salt, Pine Nuts 2%, Sugar, Pecorino Romano Cheese 1%, Garlic, Acidity Regulator: Lactic Acid
It's padded out with cashew nuts, Padano cheese (a cheaper version of Parmesan but not from the same region). It also has less olive oil, sunflower oil, Pecorino (another substitute for Parmesan). Plus a few odds and sods... potato flakes anyone?
So what my pesto is the purest form of basil pesto. Proper Parmesan, all olive oil and all pine nuts (the most expensive ingredients!). So that means I'm are getting a much better deal quality wise.
This has turned out to be not so much a price comparison but an ingredient comparison, I can make a top quality pesto for about the same as a pesto that has been padded out with cheaper ingredients. They may not be inferior, but pesto is just Olive oil, basil, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese and you clearly don't get that with shop bought.
So you know what, I'm going to keep making my own as I know it will be simple but great quality.
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I got to thinking, what else can I compare, what else could be easy to make (well supposedly) yet something people don't think twice to buy in. Then it hit me! Pesto. A great quick tea, full of flavour and something that I think could be a lot easier and cheaper to make.
First off like casserole, and tagine, pesto refers to what it is made in, not what is in the mix. You can make a pesto out of anything you like, basil just appears to be the most popular and that's what I am going to.
Ingredients... Basil, pine nuts, good olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese. That's it. That is all. You can make this in bulk, but I don't think it stores for very long. Unless you love pesto so much you want to have it several times in one week, making just enough for the meal is much more cost effective. Well I assume so I guess I need to get on with it all. Also I guarantee this will take only the time it takes to cook the pasta, as you do everything whilst the pasta is cooking. It is as simple as that, but lets look at the facts. I say that now but once I go through it all maybe it is just as easy to buy in a jar.
Recipe:
Small bunch of fresh basil leaves - half a bag 40p - 28g bag = 80p
25g Pine nuts - 63p - 100 g bag = £2.50 - these aren't cheep but last a long long time, so think of this as an investment.
25g Parmesan cheese - 56p - 200g pack = £4.50 - this cheese is never cheap, but it really is worth buying. the block of cheese rather than pre-grated as it does affect the taste.
75mls good olive oil - 30p - 500ml bottle = £2.00 (the price depends on the make you buy I buy stuff at £5.99 - but that really skews the costs but if I did it would be 90p)
1 clove of garlic - say 1p for one clove
Salt and pepper - free!
Put large pan of water on for the pasta, once brought to a rolling boil (that's when the water rolls over itself when boiling), add pasta about 200gs for two people. Cooking time is according to the packet instructions.
Pasta in, heat a frying pan (small if you have one) place pine nuts in and cook until golden brown leave to cool a little. Place in a small blender (this can be done by hand in a pestle and mortar, but could take a little longer to mash down), add in all other ingredients (cutting up the Parmesan a little to make it easier to blend). Blend until smooth. Check the pasta is done, drain and leave to dry off a little. This makes enough for a good coverage on the pasta, grate over some more cheese if you are that way inclined. The b/f is so we do :) Eat and enjoy.
So now for the scale:
Faff: 1.5: - a little chopping to make the cheese fit and the cooking of pine nuts
Time: 1: 5 mins including the cooking of the pine nuts
Smug: 3: - I'd say I'm pretty pleased with it.
And what about the cost, my mix cost £1.90 (or £2.50 if you go with the more expensive oil) for about 100g of pesto, lets compare that with some shop bought pots (Sainsbury's and Waitrose.)
The contents of the jars range from 185g to 290g and prices between £1.50 and £4.99. The smaller pots are for one use only the larger ones are half the pot for 200g pasta. So costs range between £1.50 and £2.50.
So my recipe costs are on the cheaper side of things. Not the cheapest, but certainly cheaper and if you have to only buy in the basil and pine nuts then the cost is significantly less - the joys of a well stocked cupboard and fridge! £1.03 to be precise then even less just the price of basil in the end!
So what is in your shop bought pesto that makes it cheaper?
Avgerage recipe;
Sunflower Oil 44%, Basil 31%, Grana Padano Cheese (contains Lysozyme from Egg) 7%, Cashew Nuts 4%, Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3%, Potato Flakes, Salt, Pine Nuts 2%, Sugar, Pecorino Romano Cheese 1%, Garlic, Acidity Regulator: Lactic Acid
It's padded out with cashew nuts, Padano cheese (a cheaper version of Parmesan but not from the same region). It also has less olive oil, sunflower oil, Pecorino (another substitute for Parmesan). Plus a few odds and sods... potato flakes anyone?
So what my pesto is the purest form of basil pesto. Proper Parmesan, all olive oil and all pine nuts (the most expensive ingredients!). So that means I'm are getting a much better deal quality wise.
This has turned out to be not so much a price comparison but an ingredient comparison, I can make a top quality pesto for about the same as a pesto that has been padded out with cheaper ingredients. They may not be inferior, but pesto is just Olive oil, basil, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese and you clearly don't get that with shop bought.
So you know what, I'm going to keep making my own as I know it will be simple but great quality.
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