homemade pesto will not last?

Hi, we bought a new food processor to make our own pesto. We mixed garlic, red/yellow onions, green/red/yellow peppers, and different spices and olive oil. Does anyone know how long this will last? should we freeze it or on keep in the fridge? We're trying to make our own seasonings for our food to avoid eating with salt, but i know salt is used as a preserve. How can we preserve without salt?

urbanmarilyn
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raisin_peanut May 16, 2012
Since you have the food processor, how about just making it fresh that day? There is nothing like fresh pesto! I've made pesto with whatever green leaves I have on hand: cilantro, basil, parsley. Oh so good! It's fun to make small batches and eat them right away. I understand however the desire to want to portion out and freeze. My pestos have last a while in the fridge. However, I have purchased 4 oz canning jars (go to any local hardware store) and popped them in the freezer that way. Just be sure that they are the small jars, and be sure they are the ones that can handle the freezer, otherwise they will crack.

 
ChefJune May 16, 2012
I never heard of pesto made with peppers. "Pesto" is an Italian word for "pounded," and before food processors, it was only made in a mortar pounded with a pesto. Traditional Pesto Genovese has the herb basil as its main ingredient. Other leafy herbs such as Italian parsley and cilantro are also often used to make contemporary pestos. All the pestos I have ever made freeze very well and keep in the fridge until I've used them up (which usually doesn't take too long).
 
urbanmarilyn May 16, 2012
thank youuuuuuuuuuu :)
 
Maedl May 16, 2012
Are you using basil? A traditional pesto recipe uses basil, garlic, olive oil, walnuts, pine nuts, Parmasan, salt, and pepper. That keeps for quite a while, as long as you cover the top of the pesto with olive oil. If you are using peppers, you might try freezing a small quantity to see how it works. The peppers might get watery and disgusting after freezing, and you wouldn't want to ruin a whole batch. You might consider omitting the green peppers completely, because the color combination of those peppers must be between brown and khaki.
 
susan F. May 16, 2012
We make lots of pesto & keep it on hand in the freezer. You can, if you wish, fill up a few ice trays of pesto & then pop out what you need as you need it. Or, after they are frozen pop them into a freezer bag.
Hope this helps.
 
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