Homemade pesto - it doesn't work

[payaklw]

Is it just me or is there no way to make pesto that is edible at home? I have tried several times recently and it never turns out like the pesto you buy in a jar - it's never the right taste or texture no matter what I do. I am clearly missing something.

Also wanted to try and make my own hummus but I'm feeling life's too short now given my pesto failures

AIBU - yes you can make edible pesto at home which is better than supermarket option

YANBU - let's just cut my losses and buy ready-made

home made pesto and store bought are very different. Home made is not as concentrated and you need more. The taste is fresher. You can tweak it how you like - sometimes it's cheesier, sometimes nuttier, sometimes herbier. A squeeze of lemon at the end is nice to offset the olive oil (it needs a lot more oil than you think). Also you might be under-seasoning it, especially if you're not using pecorino with the parmesan.

I love homemade pesto. Use really high quality extra virgin olive oil, and decent parmesan. I also make it with leftover salad leaves. Rocket works particularly well.
I've made houmous a lot too. The trick is to warm the chickpeas first and then it goes super smooth.

I make hummus at home too, but I wouldn't diss supermarket hummus. It has its own charm! For homemade hummus, the chickpeas you can get in tall jars in Asian shops/'world food' supermarket aisle are the best, and quite cheap too (£1 a jar, bigger than a tin)

I love sabra hummus ! I actually preferred it to home made.

This. I used to buy pesto from an Italian deli - it was quite different to the stuff you get in jars.
We made some ourselves the other day and it wasn’t too far off the deli pesto.
Also, homemade hummus is easier to make than pesto and tastes delicious 😋

We freeze it, so I make a big batch portion it up, freeze the extra portions, and keep one in the fridge, keeps for up to a week. If I need to defrost it, stick it in the fridge the night before.

Same for pesto, big batch, keep one portion in the fridge, the rest batched up and frozen.

Home made pesto is yummy and very easy! What recipe are you following?

Update - tried making mint pesto made with toasted pumpkin seeds. It's definitely edible but still has that grassy texture that all my other attempts have had. I think I was probably a bit tight with the oil though tbf (and it didn't have any parmesan in)

I suspect my problem is that I am trying to emulate a jar of Sacla brand pesto and then get frustrated when it's different.

Next stop: houmous :)

All you lovely, inventive Mumsnetters who know a lot more than me about recipes - I have IBS and can't eat garlic. Any tweaks to hummus and pesto I can make so I can eat them again after years of missing them?

Definitely not enough oil OP

if you make it yourself you can just leave garlic out.

can you tolerate leek or spring onion? a small amount can give good flavour.

and if course this time of year (just about) wild garlic leaves.

No leeks, sadly, and only green parts of spring onion (FODMAP diet recommended by NHS dietician). I'll try your suggestion, though, and thank you!

I’m a terrible and infrequent cook and I’ve made nice pesto several times! I’ve frozen it in ice cube trays and then used it from frozen with no problems too.

I’ve made it without cheese (and with almonds) before and that was good too.

I've made red pesto loads of times. Cheaper than the shop bought ones and tastier.

Garlic infused oil can be ok on fodmap - double check but i think the bit that makes it bad isnt oil soluble.

Also green but if chives can be ok for some people.

Thank you, @Spendonsend !

This is foolproof and delicious
https://cookieandkate.com/best-hummus-recipe/

Someone mentioned babaganoush - so easy to make and divine that I would never dream of buying it.

Homemade is amazing, much better than jar! I use the Jamie Oliver recipe. It needs lots of olive oil. Hummus is so easy, make sure to add water otherwise it’s so thick

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pasta_with_almond_basil_68146 - I just made this - it was delicious.

How can you not make great home made pesto? It's dead easy and takes about 1 minute!

Baffled!

Mind you, if you think the Sacla stuff in jars is nice we are looking near very different things. It's vile and tastes like stewed tea.

I wouldn't personally feel the need to emulate the shop bought variety. But I was just making the point that if someone else wanted to (and everyone has different tastes), it is pretty hard.

For home made hummus, skinning the chickpeas is a game changer for smoothness. Empty a tin of them into a pan (drained of the water), add a couple of tsps bicarbonate of soda, heat up and toss around the pan for a few minutes, then tip into a sieve and rinse well, tossing them around in your hands as you do so and the skins will come off. The bicarb breaks down the skins. Then continue with your recipe and end up with lovely super smooth hummus. Honestly please try it, it's fantastic!

Fair enough!

Pesto made with parsley is also delicious, especially with almonds.

Home made pesto is food of the gods, yummy garlic-y goodness. I do wonder if there is a trick so I can use less oil though