Pesto is one of those things I didn't really 'get' for many years, and then one day someone cooked for me using pesto and my love affair began. I just find it a really useful store cupboard food as you can throw so many things together at last minute using pesto. I like to use it with ready- made puff pastry to make cheese & tomato tarts with pesto base, and it's great when there's not much in the cupboard to take to work for dinner as you can mix it through with pasta and add tomatoes or whatever veg is in the fridge.

Someone once told me that cheap pesto is one of those things to be avoided. Some things are worth paying more for apparently. Unfortunately, given the current financial situation I find myself in (like most of the country), I can't really afford to be frivolous, so I thought I'd give Tesco's cheaper pesto a try.

This pesto comes in a glass see through jar so you can see what the product looks like. This might put some people off because it's bright green in colour, but it really does taste good! The jar costs £0.98 for 190g. The branded versions (Sacla) cost around twice as much as this.

I found this pesto to be very good value for the money I paid. It tastes great and adds a bit of a kick to meals such as pasta. It's also good for adding moisture to food, for example if you're having chicken but not sure what to make it with, you can cover it in pesto to avoid it being too dry. The taste is difficult to describe to those who haven't had pesto before. It's quite strong and a little goes a long way so you won't need loads. It's not exactly spicy but has a kick to it and is quite sharp. It contains ingredients such as basil, sunflower oil, pine nuts and cheese so this might help to imagine the taste if you put all these ingredients in a blender. It can make you feel a bit self-conscious after eating it as your breath won't be the freshest, but mints can help with this!

The only criticism I would make of this pesto is that it is a little more oily than some others I've had. This just means if you're using it for pastries and tarts the oil will gather in the middle and make your pastry soggy. Other than that, I think this is a very good value product.

The pesto is supposed to be stored in the fridge once opened, and you should use it within 2 weeks. I have to admit to eating it a little after the 2 weeks is up, and it's never done me any harm. Generally I go by eye and smell when it comes to sell-by-dates.

Nutritional information per one quarter of a jar is as follows:

Calories - 210
Sugars - 0.3g
Fat - 21.8g
Saturates - 3.2g
Salt - 0.8g

Overall, this is a good cheap alternative to the branded products, something we're all striving to find these days!