IA #3 – Pesto

½) Assumption/Dish

Pesto is a vibrant green paste used typically as a sauce for pasta and occasionally as a side for bread. Made with basil and olive oil, it is a light sauce perfect for the summer. I never really liked pesto much but have grown to appreciate more. I did not know how pesto was prepared either: I thought that fresh basil and olive oil were just ground together in a blender.

3) Chemical Analysis

            Basil is an aromatic herb that gives off a very distinct smell. Basil contains two types of molecules that contribute to its noticeable aroma: terpenes and phenolics. Terpenes contribute more floral, citrusy scents while phenolics provide warmer scents that we associate with baking such as vanilla. Basil contains two terpenes (cineole and linalool) and one phenolic (eugenol). Due to the presence of more terpenes, basil gives off a fresh and herbaceous scent.

The pesto recipe I have been following for this assignment lists these ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves (no stems)
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts OR walnuts
• 2 large cloves garlic
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

The only water in this recipe comes from the basil and the garlic. Terpenes do not dissolve readily in water. Additionally, terpenes are volatile and evaporate readily when heated. Pesto is not heated either. Due to the lack of heat and water applied to the dish and the nature of terpenes themselves, pesto is very aromatic and enticing to smell.

4) Cultural Analysis

            Basil has been a popular herb since antiquity. Many cultures around the world revered basil for different reasons: in Egypt, mummies were often embalmed with basil, and in Greece, basil was synonymous with mourning. Basil was associated with lovers in Rome. This idea of basils being equated with love and fertility seems to be present, albeit in a strange way, in the story of Lisabetta and her basil, which grows in a pot in which she has buried her lover’s head.  Across the world in India, basil was considered protection and planted around temples and other religious sites and was considered sacred to the gods. Needless to say, basil held significant cultural value across the planet.

Pesto originated in the Italian city of Genoa and emerged around the 16^th century. Pesto’s ingredients have barely changed since its conception: basil, garlic, olive oil, parmesan, and pine nuts are still the core ingredients to the recipe, with the pine nuts being the most common substitution for other nuts. Pesto comes from the Genoese word pestâ, meaning “to pound” or “to crush”, referring to the traditional way of preparing pesto by grinding the ingredients with a mortar and pestle.

Pesto being prepared the traditional way with a pestle and mortar

5) Integration

The first thing one notices about pesto is its magnificent and powerful smell. While we know today there is no harm in smelling pesto and that the scent comes from the presence of terpenes and phenolics, many people during medieval times believed that smelling basil could lead to an infestation of scorpions in the brain among other things. (Yes, really. Scorpions.) Basil may not hold the power to infest one’s brain with scorpions or to make them fall in love and be fertile, but basil does have the power to entice us to eat it with the ‘magical’ power of its terpenes and phenolics.

Works Cited

https://www.oliviersandco.com/pesto-originated

https://www.myspicer.com/history-of-basil/

http://www.ourherbgarden.com/herb-history/basil.html

https://www.mdidea.com/products/proper/proper08605.html

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/2653-basic-pesto