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Basil plants are loaded with volatile oils, responsible for the heady aroma and strong flavor so essential to cooking. The composition of oils varies greatly in different basil plant types, thus accounting for the wide range of scents available.
The basil plant is a staple in Italian cooking but this versatile herb can season a lot more than spaghetti sauce! It's wonderful when cut into bits and sprinkled on fresh sliced tomatoes. And it adds a gourmet touch to eggs, fish dishes and almost any savory recipe. I add it to any soup that's based on tomatoes, too. And remember that some basil plants have spicy or lemony flavors to enhance your dishes even more.
Plant basil from seed and if you start just a few every month or so, you'll have a continuous supply. It's very easy to grow. Or, if you are in a hurry, you can find basil plants at most garden centers. All varieties of basil like warm weather and bright sunshine and they're quite happy when transplanted into a container on a sunny patio. Just remember that they don't take kindly to drying out.
Basil plants normally bloom and then set seed in the fall, or earlier in some climates. Keep your basil plants pinched back and be ruthless about clipping or pinching off any flower stalks that appear. That way, you'll delay the blooming and seed setting and get a longer productive life from your basil plant.
There's really no such thing as growing too many basil plants. Any overabundance is easily preserved for winter use. You can pick the leaves and then freeze them in water or olive oil. Basil loses much of its flavor when dried so freezing is definitely preferred. For use in sauces or stews, I like to chop the basil, put it in ice cube trays and then fill the cells with water. Then I repack the frozen cubes into plastic freezer bags for storage. When I need basil for a recipe, I simply drop in a frozen cube or two of basil, ice and all. No need to thaw. If I want to make pesto, I freeze my basil in olive oil rather than water.
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