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What goes well with African blue basil?
African Blue basil pairs well with parsley, cardamom, beverages such as black tea, ginger ale, and champagne, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, lentils, rice, and feta cheese. African Blue basil leaves and flowers should be used immediately for the best quality and flavor.
What does African blue basil taste like?
African Blue basil leaves are crisp, semi-chewy, and succulent with an earthy, herbaceous, and woodsy flavor with notes of menthol, musk, and cloves. Beyond the leaves, the plants also bear fuzzy, purple-green stems and long stems with a series of small purple buds that eventually bloom into lavender flowers.
How do you grow African blue basil?
If you have the right climate, or are willing to overwinter your plant inside, African basil is nice to grow for its fragrance and edible leaves. African blue basil care requires the best conditions; full sun, loamy soil that is rich in nutrients and well-drained, and moderate humidity and soil moisture.
What is African basil used for?
Also known as clove basil and African basil, the African blue basil plant (Ocimum gratissimum) is a perennial shrub grown for a hedge or for medicinal and culinary uses. Traditionally, and commercially today, African basil is grown for its oils, which are used in flavorings and insect repellant. About African Basil Plants
What is African blue basil used for?
African Blue basil is best suited as a fresh flavoring or finishing garnish. The leaves are popularly blended into pesto, chimichurri sauce, salad dressings, and dips, or they are sprinkled over soups, tossed into salads, or layered over bruschetta.
Is African blue basil good in pesto?
Basil oil contains a number of components. That of African blue basil may have a bit more camphor than other basils, but not enough to dominate its flavor. I enjoy pesto I make from it, and everyone I know who has used it has agreed it makes great pesto.
Is African purple basil edible?
Pollinators LOVE the purple flowers, and I've found that they are just as tasty as the leaves and can be used in pesto, salads, pasta, cocktails or anywhere else you'd use basil.
What do you do with African blue basil flowers?
Since this breed of basil doesn't go to seed, you can let the flowers bloom all they want, and the plant will still keep going strong for many years. If you want a bushier basil, you can pinch it off and use the edible flower stems as a soup or salad garnish…
What does African blue basil attract?
With pale purple flower spikes, it's a very attractive candidate for the herb or butterfly garden. This stately plant will not only buzz with bees of all types, but moths and hummingbirds too.
How do you overwinter African blue basil?
African Blue Basil is more suited to indoor growing than most basils. If you want to over winter the plant, either grow it through the summer in a pot and move it in before frost or grow it in the ground and take tip cuttings in early fall.
Is Thai basil the same as African basil?
Thai and African blue basil Thai basil is the one you find in Asian dishes, where its purple/green leaves give a hint of anise. It's similar in flavor to African Blue basil, a tender perennial. Both are more camphorous than soft-leaved basils, so most people find the taste inferior.
How do you preserve African basil?
Trim the cut ends, put the bunch in a glass, jar, or vase of water that will fit in the fridge, and cover the whole thing, or at least the basil leaves, with a plastic bag. Put the whole in in a refrigerator. Basil kept that way will stay vibrant and green for up to a week.
How do you use African Nunum basil?
This amazing plant has incredible flavor, a rich basil taste, with oregano flavor, and a small kick of delicious spiciness! It is wonderful in salads, soups, pastas, vinegars, jellies and killer pestos! We adore this wonderful variety also for its health properties!
What does African basil smell like?
Use as a Herb. Unlike most basils, African Blue Basil is not typically grown for its use in cooking. It has a strong camphor (clove) scent compared to other traditional basils; as a result, most cooks prefer to grow the more traditional Italian Genovese Basil for cooking.
Is all purple basil edible?
Purple Basil is an Anti-Inflammatory Herb Purple basil can be used in any recipe that calls for sweet basil, although the flavor is more intense than traditional sweet basil.
Is purple basil good for you?
The basil's purple leaves carry a lot of nutritional value that will do wonders for your body. A study published in the International Journal of Food Science & Technology noted that it's rich in antioxidant and phenolic compounds including arachidonic, jasmonic, and β-aminobutyric acids.
Does purple basil taste good?
Purple Basil It's not as sweet as other basil varieties, and it has a strong clove flavor. We don't recommend cooking it, as it turns an unappealing black color when heated, but it's perfect for use in salads, pesto or any of your other favorite ways to use fresh basil.
Are flowers on purple basil edible?
Basil flowers are perfectly edible. In terms of fragrance and flavor, the flowers are similar, if milder, than the leaves. Sometimes, flowers can be somewhat bitter, so test them first. When sprinkled over a salad, basil flowers impart a mild basil flavor and add a decorative touch.
About African Basil Plants
Native to Africa and South Asia, African blue basil plants have long been grown for the medicinal and culinary uses of the leaves. It is related to the common basil that flavors so many dishes but grows as a shrub rather than a leafy herb.
African Basil Uses
For a workhorse of a plant, this is a good choice. It has both edible and medicinal uses. As an edible herb, the leaves are used to flavor dishes or cooked like a green. Different varieties vary in aroma and flavor: thyme, lemon thyme, and clove. The leaves can also be used to make tea and the oils extracted to make clove or thyme oil.
How to Grow African Basil
If you have the right climate, or are willing to overwinter your plant inside, African basil is nice to grow for its fragrance and edible leaves. African blue basil care requires the best conditions; full sun, loamy soil that is rich in nutrients and well-drained, and moderate humidity and soil moisture.
About
The African Blue Basil is a perennial and is one of the most cold telerant breeds of basil. It is a hybrid of two other breeds of basil and is propagated by cuttings.
Information
Translations: Āfrikas Blue Basil, Afrikos Blue Basil, Albastru african Vasile, Afrička Blue Basil, Phi Blue Basil, Blue Afryki Basil, अफ्रीकी ब्लू तुलसी, Basil Blue Africano, Африканский Blue Василия, Αφρικανική Blue Βασίλειος, الزرقاء باسل الأفريقية, 아프리카 블루 바질, Africké Blue Basil, Afrika Blue Basil, 非洲蓝罗勒, Basilio Blau Àfrica, Afriška Blue Basil, Africké Blue Basil, African Basilio Blue, בזיל כחול אפריקה, Афрички Плава Василије, アフリカブルーバジル, Africaine Basil Blue, African Blue Basilikum, Afrikanske Blue Basil, Afrikansk Blue Basil, Basilio Azul África, Африканський Blue Василя, Afrikkalainen sininen Basil, Африка Blue Василий.
Physical Description
It is a decorative plant, which, if allowed to bloom, is covered with long flower stems of purple buds that open to lavender flowers. The 1- to 2 1/2-inch long leaves are a slightly grayed green with purple speckles on their undersides.
Selecting and Buying
Choosing: When you get your young plant, you should at first pinch out its center stem. If it is very small, wait until the plant has at least 4 pairs of leaves, and pinch off the top set. Or, if the plant is already blooming, pinch out the center flower head and a couple of leaves beneath it as well as any side flower heads more than an inch long.
Preparation and Use
The flowers, leaves and young stems are edible. Some sources report that the flavor is too camphory, but everyone who has tried mine so far thinks it has a rich, mellow flavor.
Eat 'Em!
Basil flowers are perfectly edible. In terms of fragrance and flavor, the flowers are similar, if milder, than the leaves. Sometimes, flowers can be somewhat bitter, so test them first. When sprinkled over a salad, basil flowers impart a mild basil flavor and add a decorative touch.
Make Basil Flower Vinegar
Basil flower vinegar works well with olive oil or any citrus juice in salad dressings. Here's how to make it:
Make Basil Flower Oil
Infuse your favorite olive oil with basil flowers, replenishing with new flowers over time to intensify the flavor:
Brew Basil Tea
Simply add freshly cut basil flowers to a teacup or pot of boiling water, and let steep for several minutes. Strain the tea through a tea strainer or standard kitchen strainer, and enjoy!
Display Them
Don't worry if you've been neglectful and your basil plants have gone to flower. Big flower buds make nice little bouquets! The leaf growth on the plants will perk up soon after you prune back all the flowers, but the old leaves may be a little bitter or bland; just test them to check.
