When homemade isn’t good enough

October 22, 2025 by
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There are so many things I can make at home that are better than even a top-shelf brand – mayonnaise, chicken stock, sandwich bread, salad dressing, all sorts of cakes, cookies, and desserts. Yet there remains a white whale that I seemed doomed to chase for eternity, never finding a way to make it better at home: pistachio spread.

Homemade pistachio paste from Serious Eats by Stella Parks

What makes this situation worse is that the product that I prefer is expensive, about $20 USD for a 4 ounce jar. At least the inferior chicken stock and other items I can improve upon at home are relatively cheap, so it does not break the bank if I succumb to laziness and buy them. A $20 jar of pistachio paste, however, puts a sizeable dent in the grocery budget. With food costs continuing to rise I have been cutting back on the splurges, and it would be wonderful if I had a homemade version of the spread that tasted as good as my favorite brand (Il Colle del Gusto).

Unfortunately, I have not been able to crack the code for the spread. It’s not that my attempts have produced anything unpalatable. The homemade version is okay, but is not in the same league flavor- or texture-wise. The problems are multi-fold: I do not have high quality Sicilian pistachios, the olive oil I use is too peppery, and my vintage Vitamix is not able to produce the silky-smooth texture of the commercial product. So I am stuck with two options: eat an inferior pistachio spread or trim another expense so I can justify the purchase. (Goodbye, Netflix.) Do you have any products that you just cannot replicate or improve upon at home?

Category: Antipasto

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7 Comments

  • Fyretigger  on  October 23, 2025

    There’s an episode of “The Foods that Built America” (S4:E9 ‘Peanut Butter Battle’). The secret to texture you are missing might be hydrogenation, and you probably wouldn’t want to do that even if you could.

  • FuzzyChef  on  October 23, 2025

    Cheese. Like, i do make cheese at home, but it’s not in the same league as Neils Yard or Rogue Creamery.

  • lean1  on  October 23, 2025

    pesto from Genoa Italy.

  • sanfrannative  on  October 23, 2025

    I have trouble getting Thai curry pastes to the right consistency. I always end up with chunks of stuff in it. My food processer is great for so many things but not that! My vitamix could do it, but then there’s the problem of getting it out of the bottom of the blender jar. I might try pounding it by hand but that can take a minute! So it’s little cans of curry paste for me.

  • Zephyrness  on  October 23, 2025

    Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp. I’ve tried other brands, I’ve tried my own from several recipes. None are as good, to me, as the original. Fortunately not expensive and my once a month grocery has big jars.

  • carolwatson  on  October 29, 2025

    Might need a Thermomix. But that’s not cheap. It vitamises like nothing else.

  • imnotyouranti  on  November 15, 2025

    Though I was likewise intimidated by pistachio paste, I have found that I have been able to make it better than most brands you can get in the US. It requires a strong food processor and about 15+ minutes of blending, but it comes out incredibly rich and delicious and lasts for quite a while. I only utilize pistachios that I roast myself (and these are the Californian variety) and a little bit of salt, no olive oil.

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