I’m up to my armpits in basil. Overenthusiastically, I’m planting bookoo basil at about two-week intervals, and it’s easy to see I’m going to have way more than I know what to do with. It’s an exceptionally fragrant, spicy basil (Genova Profumatissima), and I’d love to be able to cook with it in midwinter.
Trouble is, dried basil tastes like squat. I’ve Googled about a bit, and see various recipes for preserving it by freezing or pickling it in vinegar or oil. Before I invest the time on any of these methods, does anyone have any experience in this? I’d appreciate any advice.
Basil tends to turn black the minute you cut it, heat it or try to preserve it in anyway. If you want to keep it green, I’d buy a good bottle of extra virgin olive oyl (or several if you have basil coming out your hoo-ha) and stuff the leaves in the bottle. Store in a dry, dark place. Do not use after about 6 months. The oil will become infused with essence of basil – yummy to cook with. You could also make a buttload of pesto and give jars away to your friends, which is probably what I would do with all that.
With many herbs, I chop them up, toss them in a freezer/zip-loc baggie and toss in the freezer. Keeps up to a year and you can open the baggie and throw in whatever amount you need at the time. I fear basil would turn black if you tried this, but hey if you have a lot – try it and let me know how that works out.
Honestly, the only way I’ve ever been able to preserve basil is by making it into pesto sauce and preserving THAT. Not exactly what you were looking for, I know, but basil really doesn’t keep very well.
Are you putting it into sauces a lot? Then try chopping it, add a small amount of water, and freeze it in ice cube trays. This makes nice little portions. The water will keep it from going too dark, but it will still be discoloured a little.
If you’re putting it on pizza a lot, you could pack it in oil. Take some extra virgin olive oil and pack those leaves in. This is good for adding it to pizza, tomatoes, etc.
But really, nothing beats the taste of fresh basil, except maybe fresh coriander.
As Dogzilla said, consider making a basil infused oil or a large batch of pesto, as the sauce tends to freeze quite well. Let me know if you’d like some recipes posted here.
Personally, I’d go with the pesto. Ricotta ravioli con pesto is one of the most delightful dishes on earth. Make the sauce in small batches to refine your technique.
Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone, Fawlty Towers fans included.
After reading your advice and Googling a bit more, this is what I believe I’ll try. Chop basil finely and add just enough olive oil to form a thickish paste. Freeze it in blobs in an ice cube tray and toss the cubes together in a ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer. I’ll try it on my first couple of plants, which will be sacrificed in the name of research. In a couple of weeks, I’ll thaw out the cubes and report back here to let you know how they taste. The pesto idea is good, but I often use basil in lighter preparations, like to season grilled fish or to mix with mashed garlic and butter to make garlic toast. We’ll see how this approach works.
