"It might as well have been some rare liquid drug."
Buddhapesto gets some much deserved attention in the New York Times this week, with some great details about Maria Gandara and how she makes the pesto:
Only Ms. Gandara knows. Over the course of 10 years or so, she has been the sole conjurer of what is now approximately 3,000 containers of Buddhapesto per month. "[Husband] Gregor [Trieste] does not know how to make it," she said.
Such information would be tough to share, anyway, because Ms. Gandara, a 47-year-old mother of two, tends to measure her ingredients, whether it's a shotgun blast of tricolored pepper or a fluffy clump of parsley, by sight and by the way it feels in her hands.
She also uses a part of the body that's too rarely cited in cookbooks: her ears. She knew the pesto was ready, she said, when the shifting din of the food processor told her so: "It no longer sounds like it's struggling. The machine is at peace. It calms down. I am listening for an om."
Mr. Trieste, 43, said, "It's called a pest-om."
The fact that Gandara is the only one who knows how to make Buddhapesto is both charming and alarming. What if there's a freak processor accident? An attack of mutant basil? WHAT THEN?!? Buddhapesto will be lost to the world!
Obvious conclusion: Ms. Gandara needs to be cloned (organically, of course). Or her consciousness somehow needs to be preserved in one of those doomsday vaults where all the seeds are stored.
You can get Buddhapesto at the Troy Farmers' Market. And we've seen it at the Honest Weight Food Co-op, too.
Bonus bit: The basil for Buddhapesto comes from Slack Hollow Farm in Washington County.
[via @chefricorlando]
Earlier on AOA: Buddhapesto
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Comments
Just bought a container last weekend at the Troy Farmers' Market. I can't stop eating it. It goes on everything.
... said Jason on Jun 6, 2012 at 11:29 AM | link
What a timely post! This very morning, the tub of Buddhapesto fell out of my fridge, landing on the bottom corner. It cracked, allowing precious pesto to ooze out of the side! You would have thought it was a diamond ring rolling toward the drain. I pounced on it with horror, plugged the crack, opened the lid and spooned the rest into a small glass jar while using my finger to squeegee the remaining bits from the container and licked all my fingers clean. Late to work but who cares? I saved most of it. Whew.
... said Laura on Jun 6, 2012 at 11:37 AM | link
Buddhapesto is also available at Schenectady Greenmarket and the Niskayuna Co-Op.
... said WendyV on Jun 6, 2012 at 11:45 AM | link
Yay! Buddhapesto is seriously the best!
... said Ashley on Jun 6, 2012 at 11:46 AM | link
Well deserved. Buddhapesto is like nothing else on the market. I can't afford it as often as I'd like to, but I have no problem paying a premium when I can for that kind of quality.
... said s on Jun 6, 2012 at 12:10 PM | link
What a great article - their product and dedication deserve that kind of recognition!
Gregor usually mentions when selling at the Troy Farmer's Market that the pesto was made that day - now I know he's telling the truth. It also makes sense now why some weeks taste different than others.
... said Jessica R on Jun 6, 2012 at 12:52 PM | link
I feel like a drug addict when I force myself to walk buy their table at the Troy Farmer's Market without buying. It is pricey so I try to only buy it sparingly, but it is the BEST pesto I've ever eaten. No matter what I do when making it at home, it's never as good as it is from Buddhapesto. Despite the fact that I have a dozen basil sprouts I potted last night, I may have to go sniff out Slack Hollow's offerings at the market.
... said Valerae on Jun 6, 2012 at 1:29 PM | link