What comes in green, purple, dark opal, boxwood, lemon, cinnamon, cardinal, spicy globe, Holy, Thai, Greek, and Genovese? The answer is - basil! Each has a unique appearance, aroma, flavor, and best use.
The basil's name may describe the flavor, as with lemon, cinnamon, and spicy basil. Or it might point you to its best regional recipe use, as with Greek or Thai. Boxwood simply indicates plant shape. With a basil such as Cardinal, the name pays homage to the gorgeous flowers. The accompanying picture is purple basil.
Fresh or dried, basil adds flavor and great nutrition to any meal. Fresh basil also offers some rather surprising health benefits.
Health Benefits of Basil:
Basil is high in calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium. The pretty plant holds an amazing range of vitamins from A to Zinc, including a good dose of vitamin K - one of the go-to nutrients for bone health. Holy basil’s water soluble flavonoids help support white blood cells boosting your body’s ability to resist radiation induced chromosome damage.
Fresh basil helps to keep you from getting sick in the first place. The Journal of Microbiological Methods explains how basil’s volatile oils (essential oils) increase your body's resistance to three widespread and resistant food borne bacteria - Staphylococcus, Enterococcus, and Pseudomonas. Protect your family and make basil a part of your healthy life. It’s deliciously easy.
Basil is Easy to Grow:
Basil is happy either in a pot on the window sill or planted directly in a garden. Sow a row of seeds or purchase a few varieties in small nursery pots. Pinch back the flowers to encourage more leaves. Harvest, dry, and crumble leaves for storage in clean, labeled dried herb bottles. Do let a few flower stems go to seed. Snip the stem and place, seed pods down, inside a clean paper bag. After the surrounding pods dry, remove the seeds, and store in an envelope for next year’s garden! New to herb gardening? Organic Gardening’sbasil growing tips are superb.
Cooking with Basil:
Use dried basil in measured teaspoons. Or rinse and pat dry handfuls of fresh basil and toss them into sauces, soups, and stews. Add basil to egg scrambles at breakfast and sprinkle the leaves on your lunchtime salads. Basil’s flavors, either fresh or dry, work especially well with tomatoes. My favorite way to use fresh basil is to tear it in half and stir into pasta sauce.
