# Tomatoes, mozzarella, basil **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoes-mozzarella-basil/445623 "2008-04-16T18:44:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoes-mozzarella-basil/445623/1 "2008-04-16T18:44:37Z")
A.k.a. insalata Caprese – what kind of basil do you use, sweet or Italian? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoes-mozzarella-basil/445623/2 "2008-04-16T19:21:15Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] what kind of basil do you use, sweet or Italian? [/QUOTE] According to my step mother, who I alway ask about stuff like this, you usually only see regular basil in this salad. The fragrance is a key component to what makes that salad so wonderful. Given that, she said that wouldn’t stop her from using purple basil once in a while to change it up. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoes-mozzarella-basil/445623/3 "2008-04-16T19:36:16Z")
Personally, I go with Italian basil. A little purple basil mixed in adds a nice dash of color, but I wouldn’t use it alone. (For the sake of distinguishing varieties, I’m assuming that you’re referring to Thai basil as “sweet basil”. Some people refer to the common Italian/Mediterranean basil as “sweet basil”, but that wouldn’t make sense in this context.) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoes-mozzarella-basil/445623/4 "2008-04-16T19:42:25Z")
I wasn’t sure, that’s why I asked – I’m not sure what the person has in mind for what with these names. Which would you use for pesto? ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoes-mozzarella-basil/445623/5 "2008-04-16T20:04:13Z")
In that case, whoever was talking about it was probably using “sweet” and “Italian” pretty much interchangeably. “Sweet basil” is a rather vague reference–many varieties of basil are sometimes referred to as “sweet”, even if they’re not sweet at all. Thai basil is actually somewhat sweeter in flavor, but I don’t think I’ve actually seen it called “sweet basil”. I would use Italian basil for pesto. In fact, I would use it for most dishes that aren’t of Asian or Indian origin, unless I wanted a specific flavor, like the citrus taste of lemon basil. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoes-mozzarella-basil/445623/6 "2008-04-16T20:11:42Z")
Yeah, I’m going back to the author on this, because it’s not making sense to me. Since I’m neither a cook nor an herbalist, though, I wasn’t sure if this really didn’t make sense or whether it just didn’t make sense to me. Apparently the former. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoes-mozzarella-basil/445623/7 "2008-04-16T21:02:53Z")
(Whichever you use, don’t forget the olive oil.) ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tomatoes-mozzarella-basil/445623/8 "2008-04-16T22:04:41Z")
I like to use some balsamic reduction on my caprese salads as well as a splash of EVOO.