- Top whole leaves onto pizza.
- Finish pasta with whole or thinly sliced leaves.
- Blend it into sauces.
- Puree it into soups.
- Chop it up to add to a salad.
- Use it to garnish avocado toast.
- Turn it into an ice cream topping!
What can you use fresh sweet basil for?
10 Great Ways to Use Up Fresh BasilPesto.Infused Oil.Appetizers.Vegetable Soups.Salads.Pizza.Fish & Seafood Dishes.Sides.More items...•
Can you eat sweet basil plant?
Sweet basil is most widely used for cooking, but many other varieties — with slightly different flavor profiles — are available.
What is the herb sweet basil used for?
Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) plays a role in many Mediterranean, and particularly Italian, cuisines. It forms the basis of pesto and adds a distinctive flavor to salads, pasta, pizza, and other dishes. Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisines also feature this herb.
How do you harvest and use sweet basil?
0:020:19How to Harvest Sweet Basil - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe most mature leaves by cutting the stem at a node just above another set of leaves. You canMoreThe most mature leaves by cutting the stem at a node just above another set of leaves. You can harvest about 1/3 of the entire plant every week to two weeks.
Should I let my basil flower?
If you are cultivating basil strictly for its leaves, it is best to remove the flowers. Pinching basil blooms back will allow all of the plant's energy to stay focused on foliage production, creating a bushier plant with more leaves and maintaining higher levels of essential oils in the leaves.
Is drinking basil water good for you?
Holy basil has been shown to boost your body's health in a variety of ways. It can help protect against infection, lower your blood sugar, lower your cholesterol, ease joint pain, and protect your stomach.
What's the difference between basil and sweet basil?
Sweet basil is a sub-type of common basil with milder or licoricey taste. It is the best choice for Italian sauces and soups and for making pesto. Sweet basil leaves can sustain better in high-temperature cooking than common basil, so they are widely used in the South Asian cuisine.
How do you store sweet basil leaves?
How to Store Fresh BasilCut: Cut your basil about half an inch from the bottom of the stems. ... Fill: Fill the jar you are using to hold the basil with enough cold water to cover the stems by about an inch. ... Store: Loosely cover the top of your basil leaves with a GLAD Food Storage Zipper Quart Bag to help keep it fresh.
Can sweet basil be cooked?
If a recipe simply calls for “basil,” sweet basil is the way to go. Other varieties can have stronger flavors that can give you an unintended result in your recipes. Holy basil is best cooked (it can be bitter when raw), but purple basil is best raw as that pretty purple color turns black when cooked.
Can fresh basil be frozen for later use?
ANSWER: Yes, you can freeze fresh basil leaves, but they just need a little help. Basil is a particularly delicate herb because it hates the cold and darkens when cut. Keep in mind any fresh herbs that you freeze will not be entirely the same as fresh. Freezing will change the texture and it won't be as stable.
How do you know when to harvest sweet basil?
Start picking the leaves of basil as soon as the plants are 6 to 8 inches tall. Once temperatures hit 80°F (27°C), basil will really start leafing out. Harvest in the early morning, when leaves are at their juiciest.
How do you harvest sweet basil so it keeps growing?
0:551:51How To Harvest Basil So It Keeps Growing BIG! - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe main stem. And you're actually going to cut the main stem. Right above that node. So here we goMoreThe main stem. And you're actually going to cut the main stem. Right above that node. So here we go and we have a nice bouquet of basil here that we can use in a pesto.
What's the difference between basil and sweet basil?
Sweet basil is a sub-type of common basil with milder or licoricey taste. It is the best choice for Italian sauces and soups and for making pesto. Sweet basil leaves can sustain better in high-temperature cooking than common basil, so they are widely used in the South Asian cuisine.
Are all basil plants edible?
Are all types of basil leaves edible? Almost every basil variety is grown as a culinary herb. And not just the leaves, the flowers, and stems of the basil are perfectly edible. You can use the flowers to make tea or sprinkle them on your salad and pasta to make them look prettier.
Can you eat the whole basil plant?
While stems are too tough to use in a recipe that calls for leaves (and can be a little bitter), they make a good addition to soups, sauces and more. One option is to cut them fine and stir them into rice or couscous along with some butter and a little bit of salt.
What parts of basil are edible?
Basil (most commonly Thai basil) is commonly steeped in cream or milk to create an interesting flavor in ice cream or chocolates (such as truffles). The leaves are not the only part of basil used in culinary applications, the flower buds have a more subtle flavor and they are edible.