Archive for Апрель 2nd, 2009
BASIL: HOW TO USE AND HOW TO CARE
If you require basil to use as far into the winter as possible, sow some seed in mid-summer, transplant the seedlings into their own pots (medium size will do), and when the autumn chill starts to creep into the night air install a pot in a sunny corner indoors. Water its foliage as well as the soil, or you may come home from a day out, the house closed and warm, to find your basil has «fainted». Once you see a plant in this condition, you will know just how apt is the description. But never fear, moisture will revive it.
The succulent soft leaves of basil do not dry well for the home gardener, needing the more sophisticated apparatus of commercial drying ovens. But, if you wish, preserve your basil in the fullness of its summer flavour by cutting just before the dainty white flowers begin to bud, and store it in the traditional Indian way as follows: Put a layer of stems and leaves covering the bottom of an earthenware crock, or casserole (with a lid). Then sprinkle a layer of salt to cover the leaves. Repeat this until you have used up all your basil, making salt the last layer, and put the lid on the crock. When you want to use the basil, just shake the salt off the sprig, wash and use as required. You can also cover the fresh-cut stems with pure olive oil to preserve them. Oil is often an ingredient in recipes using basil, so the taste will not be out of place.
Basil grown in a pot indoors will help to discourage flies. It is one of the few herbs that gives off its perfume without the leaves being bruised. Even the dry dead stems of the plant, quite brown and finished, will still have the same powerful scent.
The medicinal uses of basil are many. From very ancient times it has been used to clear the head and brain, and it was an ingredient in snuff. The oil was often used in perfumes and rubbed on the temples to dispel headaches, as thyme oil was. There is an old supersitition that women will not eat from a dish that has had a sprig of basil placed underneath it. Perhaps an aid to dieting?
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