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When visiting the UK, I discovered it was almost impossible to buy fresh basil. The Latin name for Basil is Osmium Basilicum Basil is not only fragrant and aromatic, it is a valued kitchen herb and very easy to grow. Today, basil is not only used as a food flavoring, but also in perfumery, incense and herbal holistic remedies. Many cooks keep Basil growing year round in a pot on their kitchen window ledge.
Today, it is easy to get year round in most grocery stores. Fresh basil leaves should be layered in damp paper towels inside a plastic bag and refrigerated up to four days.
For basil with stalks attached, place in a glass of water and cover with a plastic bag secured to the glass. Store in the refrigerator, changing water daily, and use within a week.
Do not wash the leaves until you are ready to use them. Fresh basil is the perfect candidate for freezing, either whole or chopped.
Blanch whole leaves for two seconds, plunge into ice water, pat dry and place in airtight bags in the freezer. Flavor will be stronger if you don't thaw before using.
Another option is to put whole or chopped fresh leaves in an ice cube tray and cover with water or broth before freezing. Once frozen, pop the cubes out into an airtight bag. Use the cubes in soups, stews or sauces.
Basil and oil paste can also be frozen. Frozen basil should be used within four months. Basil is readily available in dried form, but it cannot compare in flavor to fresh basil. Dried basil should be stored in a cool, dark place away from heat and light. Dried herbs lose their potency within six months, even under the best conditions. Bear in mind that dried basil can easily have been sitting on your grocer's shelf for months by the time you buy it. So unless you use copious amounts and go through it quickly, it's best to buy small amounts so you can use it up faster.
When dried, basil loses much of its intensity. However, Basil is an annual plant and takes only 10 weeks to grow. Native to southern Asia and islands of the south Pacific, this tender annual is primarily grown for its aromatic leaves which are used fresh or dried to liven up numerous culinary dishes.
In much warmer climates, Basil is considered a tender perennial. Let some flowers remain on a few plants if you live in a warm climate and want your basil to self-sow. Gardeners, like me, plant Basil among tomatoes to help repel hornworms.
Basil can fall prey to numerous fungi in cool soil. Whether you sow seeds or set in transplants, make sure the ground has warmed thoroughly.
Basil can be used fresh or dried. The clove-like aroma and flavor is a wonderful seasoning in tomato dishes, soups, sauces, poultry, fish and herb butter. Leaves can be preserved by hanging the foliage upside down in small bunches and air drying in a warm, dry, well ventilated room for a week or so.
Foliage can also be dried by spreading flat on a drying rack under the same conditions. I lay my basil on cookie sheets and put in the oven at 225° for 5 to 8 minutes. Once the basil is thoroughly dried, strip the leaves from the stems and store whole or ground in an air tight container away from heat sources and bright light. If stored properly, it should keep for about a year. If any sign of moisture occurs, empty the container and repeat the drying process.
Freezing is another method of preserving basil. Freeze in small quantities by storing in small plastic bags or chop up the leaves into small pieces and place in ice cube tray compartments topped off with a little water. Properly frozen herbs should be used within a year.
There are many types of Basil and here are a few of them:
Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilcum) - the most popular variety in the US used in Italian style dishes and salads. It grows to a height of 75cm (2ft 6in)
Lemon basil (Ocimum citriodorum) - mild lemon flavor, commonly used with fish. Fine leaved plant with distinct lemon fragrance. Use in potpourri, iced teas, salads or other dishes. It grows to a height of 30cm (12in).
Purple Basil (Ocimum basilcum purpurea) - similar to sweet basil, but with purple leaves. One of the more tender varieties. It grows to a height of 75cm (2ft 6in)
Red Rubin Basil (Ocimum basilcum) - similar to sweet basil but very darkly colored leaves. A much deeper color than purple basil. It grows to a height of 75cm (2ft 6in)
Spicy Globe - O. basilicum, 8"-10". Use green foliage in many dishes as well as a nice edging or border because of small, compact plant size.
Lettuce Leaf Basil - O. crispum, 15". Produces large, crinkled green leaves which have a sweeter flavor than other varieties. A very vigorous grower.
Opal Basil - O.b. 'Purpurescens', 12"-18". A very versatile variety that has red-purplish foliage and pink flowers. Use ornamentally in most garden settings, fresh floral arrangements or herb vinegars. O.b. purpurescens 'Minimum' is the compact variety.
Cinnamon Basil - Ocimum sp., 18". From Mexico. This variety offers dark green shiny leaves and pink flowers. This can grow into a large bush. The flavor and fragrance in both foliage and flowers is very spicy. Use in dried arrangements, potpourri, vinegars and jellies.
'Siam Queen' Thai Basil - O.b. 'Siam Queen', 24"-36". Siam Queen is an upright, well-branched plant with flavor and fragrance distinctly different from other basils. Excellent for Asian and Indian cuisine highly decorative with purple stems and flowers.
Licorice Basil Unique Licorice Scent! This is a great plant for potpourri and seasoning. Anise-like flavor lends a nice touch to tomato dishes. Easy to grow and similar in looks to Cinnamon basil, but plants are taller, and the leaves and flowers paler in color. Not quite as hardy as cinnamon.
Anise Basil Ocimum basilicum 'Anise' Family Lamiaceae This is somewhat lanky growing basil with a sweet licorice flavor. It grows to 30 inches and has pinkish whorls of flowers. It is also called Licorice Basil. The licorice flavor is combined with a "clove" taste. It is easily grown from seed and may even reseed itself in the garden. Give it full sun and moist but well drained soil. Pick frequently to encourage dense foliage.
Holy basil (krapau) is something special. It is used in religious ceremonies in India and in the Greek Orthodox Church. Its haunting, delicate aroma enhances any scent oriented garden and is wonderful tucked into bouquets or dried for potpourris.
Basil can easily be grown in pots all year round. Basil has been cultivated for over 2000 years and it symbolizes love. At one time young girls would place some on their windowsill to indicate they were looking for a suitor.
In Tudor times, small pots of this were given by farmers' wives to visitors as parting gifts. It is also reputed that any man will fall in love with a woman from whom he accepts some basil from as a gift.
In ancient Rome, the name for the herb, Basilescus, referred to Basilisk, the fire breathing dragon. Taking the herb was thought to be a charm against the beast. With this in mind, it is interesting that today basil is used as an antidote to venom.
The Greeks also had great respect for Basil their word for it meaning royal or kingly. It was believed that only the king himself should harvest this herb, and only with the use of a golden sickle.
Once my Basil seeds have sprouted and I have thinned out, I wait until they are about 6 inches or so tall, then I prune my basils by cutting them back to just above the bottom two sets of leaves. This early pruning may seem drastic, but it actually stimulates growth. Depending on the weather and how quickly the plants are growing, I prune the plants back again to just above the bottom two sets of leaves about every four weeks, or sooner if they show any sign of flowering.
It is important to keep basils cut back so you have a continual harvest of fresh leaves throughout the season. If you are diligent about pruning your plants, you should get 15 to 25 cups of leaves from each plant per season. It is also important not to let the plants slated for culinary use flower, or the leaves will begin to taste bitter.
Most garden centers sell transplants of basil (typically the Italian varieties bred for culinary use) in the spring. But to get the most interesting varieties, I start mine from seed indoors, four to six weeks before you plan to transplant them into the garden. Sprinkle the seeds on the surface of a soil less medium in small flats or seed-starting pans and cover them with plastic wrap. Keep the flats warm but out of direct sun. When the first seed sprouts, remove the plastic and place the flat either in direct light or 2 to 3 inches below grow lights.
Since basil seedlings cannot tolerate over-watering, don't water them the first day after removing the plastic, and be careful to allow the growing medium to almost dry out between watering. As the plants grow, feed them with a liquid fertilizer once a week.
When the seedlings have developed their first set of true leaves, usually two to three weeks after germination, Transplant them into 2- or 2-1/2-inch pots. Two to three weeks later, begin hardening off the plants, which means putting them outside during the day when temperatures are warmest to get them used to outdoor temperatures and weather. Eventually leave them outside overnight, but only when you are sure there won't be any frost.
Cooking with basil is endless. Most Italian recipes of any kind may call for basil, everything from sauces to soups.
My favorite use of basil is in Pesto. Over the years I have collected many recipes for Pesto and here are some that we consider very tasty in our home. Remember to discard the stems of the basil as they tend to make your Pesto bitter.
Many of these recipes call for a food processor. When I first started out as a homemaker in the early 50’s this was an expensive item. However, now the small ones can be obtained as low as $4.50 in some bargain stores to $12.00 such as the mini chopper shown on the right. The large ones, such as the one shown on the left, start around $19.95 and go up. Mine cost $29.95 and was purchased in the early 90’s. I do not know how I got along without one. However, they are not necessary, just terribly convenient. eBay always has tons of them for sale and some of them start as low as 99 cents!
Speaking of convenient, I live quite a distance from a grocery store and sometimes it is not convenient for me to have fresh garlic on hand. However, I always have a jar of minced garlic around and all these recipes have been satisfactory using the prepared minced garlic.
Many of these recipes call for cheese of various kinds. I am including a little information about the types of cheese one would use in making Pesto.
Parmesan cheese [PAHR-muh-zahn] this hard, dry cheese is made from skimmed or partially skimmed cow's milk. It has a hard, pale-golden rind and a straw-colored interior with a rich, sharp flavor.
There are Parmesan cheeses made in Argentina, Australia and the United States, but none compares with Italy's preeminent Parmigiano-Reggiano, with its granular texture that melts in the mouth. Whereas the U.S. renditions are aged 14 months, Parmigiano-Reggiano is more often aged 2 years.
Those labeled stravecchio have been aged 3 years, while stravecchiones are 4 years old. Their complex flavor and extremely granular texture are a result of the long aging. The words Parmigiano-Reggiano stenciled on the rind mean that the cheese was produced in the areas of Bologna, Mantua, Modena or Parma (from which the name of this cheese originated). Parmesans are primarily used for grating and in Italy are termed GRANA, meaning "grain" and referring to their granular textures.
Pre-grated Parmesan is available but doesn't compare with freshly grated. Both domestic and imported Parmesans are available in specialty cheese stores, Italian markets and many supermarkets.
Legend has it that near the town of Parma, Italy, there was a mountain made entirely of grated parmesan cheese. Atop the mountain, a community of macaroni makers prepared hot pasta, bathed it in butter and rolled it down the mountain to the hungry people waiting below. Unfortunately, this delicious story is just a legend. In reality, Parmesan is one of the oldest Italian cheeses. It was developed about 2000 years ago in the castled city of Parma Asiago cheese.
Asiago cheese [ah-SYAH-goh] a semi-firm Italian cheese with a rich, nutty flavor. It's made from whole or part-skim cow's milk and comes in small wheels with glossy rinds. The yellow interior has many small holes. Young Asiago is used as a table cheese aged over a year; it becomes hard and suitable for grating. (Asiago is hard with a crumbly texture, and its flavor is reminiscent of sharp Cheddar and Parmesan. It is perfect for the table, grated on salads, and in soups, pastas, and sauces.)
Romano cheese [roh-MAH-noh] there is several different styles of Romano cheese, all of which take their name from the city of Rome. Probably the best known is the sharp, tangy pecorino Romano, made with sheep's milk. Caprino Romano is an extremely sharp goat's-milk version, vacchino Romano a very mild cow's-milk cheese.
Most U.S. Romano’s are made of cow's milk or a combination of cow's milk and goat's or sheep's milk. In general, the pale yellow Romano is very firm and mostly used for grating.
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 Resources: Excerpted from “Food For Thought Series” by Arlene Wright-Correll
For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/ and click on Arlene’s Books you can download or buy my gardening & cook books. All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and we thank you for your attention to this site.
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