285441 Thu May 25 13:05:46 -0700 2006 12 31 Home Cooking 0 1528525 I'm headed to a potluck at my CSA farm tonight. i thought i was being brilliant to use frozen pesto from last summer's harvest to make pesto pasta. i cooked up the pasta while my two toddlers were eating lunch (gotta do things when i get the chance around here)and tossed the hot pasta in with the frozen pesto cubes (i had frozen the pesto in ice cube trays then wrapped each cube in plastic wrap) we came back inside from a round of swinging on our swings and i stirred it all up; the pesto was gorgeous and brilliant and it coated the pasta perfectly, then...it turned dark brown almost instantly. My beautiful green pesto looks like sludge. well duh, i guess i should have known it would turn brown, but is there anything i can do now? nobody in their right mind would touch this stuff on a potluck table. it DOES taste good, just looks terrible. HELP! Thu May 25 13:05:46 -0700 2006 0 amyamelia 1 1528527 I'm not aware of any method to reverse the browning. So I would suggest presenting it in a way that makes the brown color appealing. For example, saute some mushrooms and scatter those on top...people will think it's a brown mushroom sauce. Thu May 25 13:25:55 -0700 2006 1528525 0 nja 1 1528528 I make and freeze pesto regularly and have never had it turn brown except in a thin layer on top. Perhaps you should freeze it all in one container instead of ice cubes since the browning is just contact with air? You could buy extra basil, chop it up and sprinkle it across the finished dish to make it more green? Parsley or some other fresh herbs might do it too. Or sprinkle extra grated cheese on top. Once your diners get past the color everything will be fine. Thu May 25 13:44:58 -0700 2006 1528525 0 cheryl 1 1528531 Cover with lots of Reggiano! Thu May 25 14:08:05 -0700 2006 1528525 0 Pablo 1 1528535 how about cheese and some halved cherry tomatoes? it will brighten the dish and mask teh color a bit. next time add a squeeze of lemon juice when you mix it up... but besides all that, anyone who appreciates pesto won't care about a littel oxidation. :) megan Thu May 25 14:15:23 -0700 2006 1528525 0 withalonge 1 1528537 thank you all i think i will just grate up the rest of my parm-reg and throw some fresh chopped basil on top, maybe something pretty like cherry toms or red pepper if the market has anything good. if nobody eats it then i will bring it home and we will gobble it all up like the pesto fiends that we are. would the lemon juice have worked? or would more oil work (to keep the air off of the cut surfaces of the basil?) i know it is too late for this batch, but i still have some in the freezer and it just tastes better when it is green green green! thanks again...it is a comfort to know that i can count on chowhounds in my hours of need! amyamelia Thu May 25 14:54:57 -0700 2006 1528525 0 amyamelia 2 1528545 To keep the pesto as green as possible you need to minmize contact with air. I freeze mine in quart containers with a thin film of olive oil on top. Over time this will still turn brown but only a very thin layer. When I want to use it, I let it defrost to the point where I can scoop out what I need, pour some more oil on top and refreeze. It isn't fully defrosted so you usually have to smush it down to make to top level. I don't freeze my pesto with cheese, just the basil, garlic and nuts. I add the cheese when I make the pasta, I think it tastes fresher this way. I've never tried using lemon with frozen pesto, if you do will you let us know how well it works? Thu May 25 15:32:24 -0700 2006 1528537 0 cheryl 3 1528547 A trick I've heard about when making the pesto is to throw in a few stems of parsely with the basil. The parsely does not turn brown and helps to maintain an overall greener color. That may not help after the fact tho. Thu May 25 15:45:19 -0700 2006 1528545 0 kevine 3 1528581 I usually make my pesto with a squeeze of a few lemons. it helps it stay nice and green, brightens the flavor a bit and it thins it out so you don't use as much olive oil. I also do what Kevine suggests, and add a handful of parsley. I like the flavor it adds. mmm... can't wait until farmer's market day. I've got to make a pesto pasta salad of my own this weekend. :) megan Thu May 25 18:58:30 -0700 2006 1528545 0 withalonge 1 1528576 Salt also helps green veggies stay green after cooking. Perhaps next time make the pesto that is to be frozen with basil that has been (briefly) blanched in salt water? Thu May 25 18:22:24 -0700 2006 1528525 0 DanaB 1 1528663 Agree with nja that there is no way to reverse oxidation. If you add lots of lemon to try to keep it green, then the flavor will be altered negatively (think lemon pasta with a basil flavor...) Garnishing it well is your best option. P.S. I tried adding parsley once to pesto--never again. Fri May 26 11:34:05 -0700 2006 1528525 0 Funwithfood 1 1528682 how about defrosting some more pesto and adding that in at the last minute? Fri May 26 12:55:35 -0700 2006 1528525 0 fara 1 1528745 Well, well-made pesto does turn brownish when exposed to heat. But Americans tend to use WAY more pesto than Italians seem to use, and with harsher basil to boot! Basically, I warm my tossing bowl over the boiling pot of pasta water. Then I take it off the pot, and put in the bowl some butter and a bit of olive oil, and then emulsify the pesto into that. Then I add some grated cheese and emulsify that into the mixture. Then I add the cooked pasta and start to toss, and add in some of the well-salted pasta cooking water. (This is the normal way in Italy to use pesto; the heated bowl and plates are also essential). Done this way, the color of the pesto becomes quite muted, but it glazed the pasta exceptionally well, with a full range of flavors. Fri May 26 16:14:11 -0700 2006 1528525 0 Karl S