When you think of a green Italian sauce or condiment, your mind probably goes first to pesto. It is, after all, found on countless Italian and Italian-American restaurant menus and is considered one of the most popular pasta sauces in the world. But pesto isn't the only herbaceous green sauce that is popular in Italy and beyond. While it could be mistaken for pesto at first glance, Italian salsa verde has a very different flavor profile and comes from a different part of the country.

While pesto offers a creamy and rich flavor to dishes due to the presence of cheese and nuts, Italian salsa verde features salty umami flavors and zest thanks to briny ingredients like salt-packed anchovies and capers. Because of these different flavor profiles, the sauces are also used in slightly different ways, each complementing an array of Italian and international flavors.