Is fresh garlic going to make

[Melaine]

a HUGE difference in pesto, enough that I should cart my pregnant self and the girls out to the grocery store for the second time today to buy it? Or can I use the jar stuff which I realize will not be as good but....

How could I forget GARLIC for pesto?

[boolady]

Sorry, not what you want to hear, but I think so, yes. Perhaps I'm biased, because I don't care for the taste of jarred chopped garlic and I think it's a very identifiable taste, but I would be afraid that the flavor would overwhelm the pesto. I dunno...someone else might disagree, I would just prefer the really fresh flavor of fresh garlic to counterbalance the fresh basil and other freshly chopped ingredients.

[Melaine]

I'm sure you are right...and after buying fresh basil it seems like a total waste. It just occurred to me that I could have DH stop on his way home so that seems like a better solution (no idea why that was not my first thought).

[boolady]

I'm sure you are right...and after buying fresh basil it seems like a total waste. It just occurred to me that I could have DH stop on his way home so that seems like a better solution (no idea why that was not my first thought).

Then have him do this, and you can roast whatever garlic you don't use in the pesto and make some awesome roasted garlic mashed potatoes!

[Melaine]

Then have him do this, and you can roast whatever garlic you don't use in the pesto and make some awesome roasted garlic mashed potatoes!

HOW do I do that, because it sounds awesome.

[boolady]

I'm sure you are right...and after buying fresh basil it seems like a total waste. It just occurred to me that I could have DH stop on his way home so that seems like a better solution (no idea why that was not my first thought).

HOW do I do that, because it sounds awesome.

Take whatever garlic cloves you don't use, preferrably still attached to the larger head of garlic (or just have your DH buy you an extra head of garlic), and put it on a piece of foil. Drizzle it with a little bit of olive oil and wrap the foil up and around it to make a little pouch. Bake it in the oven-- I usually do around 375 degrees, until the head of garlic gets a bit browned and the garlic inside is all soft and gooey. Let it cool a bit, make mashed potatoes, and squeeze the gooey garlic right out of the cloves into the potatoes, mix it up. Eat.

[Melaine]

Take whatever garlic cloves you don't use, preferrably still attached to the larger head of garlic (or just have your DH buy you an extra head of garlic), and put it on a piece of foil. Drizzle it with a little bit of olive oil and wrap the foil up and around it to make a little pouch. Bake it in the oven-- I usually do around 375 degrees, until the head of garlic gets a bit browned and the garlic inside is all soft and gooey. Let it cool a bit, make mashed potatoes, and squeeze the gooey garlic right out of the cloves into the potatoes, mix it up. Eat.

Thanks...I will definitely try that.

[StantonHyde]

I only use the jarred minced garlic and I use it in everything including pesto. I love it.

[sntm]

I can definitely taste a difference with jarred garlic. It tastes...metallic or something. I have elastic garlic mincer which works amazingly - you can put in several cloves and just twist it and it crushes and minces it.