ISO Basil recipes (3 threads merged)

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jennyema said:
I have both frozen and dried my garden basil.

Frankly, I like the dried basil better for most things I cook in the winter. It is really pungent and aromatic, with concentrated flavor -- nothing like supermarket basil. Much better than Penzey's too.
Same here Jenny,
I like to dry some for myself, that stuff you get at the store is like old hay the cows won't eat!!!:LOL: It doesn't even have the smell of basil.

kadesma
 
Alix said:
OK, little off topic sorry. Amber, do you find the smell of potted basil resembles um...catbox a bit? When I have tried to keep mine in the house it bugged me and I had to ditch it. Is there a different type I could put in the house?

Wow, I'm very late on answering your question Alix. I just brought some basil into the house a couple weeks ago, and lol, your right about it smelling like a catbox! I ended up hanging it out on the indoor porch :) The potted basil I have doesnt smell at all, it only seems to smell when it's hanging to dry.
 
This thread may help you. Hope I did the link correctly, if not it's a link on here from commissaryqueen.

Sorry but my link didnt work. Just use the search button in the miscellanous forum to search for basil.


 
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would recommend leaving out the parmesan from the pesto and covering with 1/2 inch of olive oil before freezing... giuliano bugialli recommends preserving basil leaves in salt, in a jar. i tried it a while back and i didnt think it was a great result, but freezing them isnt great either... they turn dark green instead of black and stay dry and crisper than when frozen
 
Nice thread. good work. Still have a few questions but a lot to sift through here.

One idea..Last time I did this I blanched them and then wrapped in plastic and put them in freezer. They lose a lot of flavor after more than a few months and not allthat great to start with. What if I blanche them, then mince them then put them in ice cubes? So there will be more water around them?

Does anyone have an opinion on this? I mean, would you rather freeze basil by itself or covered in water, or perhaps in oil??
 
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