The pesto that most cooks and diners are familiar with is pesto Genovese, a sauce that is green in color and is made from basil, Parmesan, garlic and pine nuts. However, Jessica Paholsky, creator of the Once Upon a Pesto website, explains further. "Pesto comes from the Italian verb that means to crush or to grind, so pesto is a process," she said. "Because basil was such an abundant herb in northwest Italy, that was what they decided to crush and grind into sauce."

Paholsky, a resident of Hershey, founded Once Upon a Pesto in 2016, utilizing social media, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to share fun facts about pesto. Her website, http://www.onceuponapesto.com, features information about how various cultures blend pesto sauce around the world.

There are also more than 100 pesto recipes with photos on the website, such as passion fruit pesto from Puerto Rico, maple syrup pesto from Canada, Native American pumpkin pesto, parsley pesto from Greece and Nigerian yam pesto.

There are no fees to pay or clubs to join, so everyone is welcome to enjoy all the information that Paholsky has to offer. "I am just trying to build a brand; educate, entertain and grow an audience all over the world; and engage with people from every country," she stated. "It incorporates all of my passions - storytelling, art, photography, travel and education and awareness."

Paholsky grew up in Adams County and graduated as valedictorian from Littlestown High School in 2010 and then as college marshal in the College of Communications at Penn State University Park in 2014.

"During that time, I studied abroad in Mexico, Cuba and Italy," she said. "My first job after college was at a teen travel company. I spent two years there, and we arranged trips for high school students to foreign countries. It gave me that awareness of how big the world really is and the significance of learning about other cultures."

Paholsky started Once Upon a Pesto while working at Rodale Inc., a publishing company. "To publish a cookbook was in the back of my head," she said, noting that authoring a cookbook remains a goal for the future.

Now employed as a full-time videographer, Paholsky decided to utilize personal videos on social media to better connect with her audience. "In terms of my audience engagement, Instagram is my top platform," she noted. "I have done Instagram live chats with people in Europe and South Africa."

Paholsky encourages people to check out her various social media sites to get new ideas about preparing pesto. "You get in a cycle. People have their routine - their favorite foods and restaurants," she said. "(I hope people) will try something they've never tried before. This leads to food history and food culture and learning about other people around us."

To learn more, visit the previously mentioned website, http://www.facebook.com/onceuponapesto, http://www.instagram.com/onceuponapesto or http://www.twitter.com/onceuponapesto. Individuals may also connect with Paholsky on Pinterest and YouTube.