Freezing your basil also results in a flavor more akin to fresh. Freezing basil allows you to keep the brilliant green color which complements food so beautifully, while drying the herb turns it to an unpleasant brown. A better method for storing and utilizing fresh basil leaves is by freezing the herb. Stored in this manner, dried basil will keep for one year. Once the herb has dried, remove the leaves from the stems and store the leaves either whole or ground in an airtight container away from heat and bright light. Using a dehydrator or simply preserving the foliage by air drying in a warm, dry, well-ventilated room for a week or so is a great way to extend the life of this herb. That said, it is also pungent when dried. That is, how are you going to utilize all that fresh basil while it's at its peak and at the final harvest? Basil is best used fresh. Since basil's sweet, fresh flavor is fleeting, it's wise to have a game plan for basil care after season. With this knowledge, it is best to be prepared to either purchase another plant or start your own from seed in the spring. Even so, the plant may linger for a time, but it will succumb at some point. Unless you are moving and growing the herb in a greenhouse, the hot temperatures and direct sunlight that basil thrives in are not usually found in the average person's home, so be sure to provide as much light as possible artificial lighting for 10 to 12 hours a day during the darker winter months. ![]() At the end of the season, though, you can try to keep it alive by moving potted basil indoors. However, sweet basil is meant to live its life cycle within one year and thereafter go to seed. Generally, the end of summer or first part of fall heralds the end of season basil harvest, but is there a way to extend basil's life at the end of the season? You can try to keep basil through the winter. There are a couple of other varieties of basil that are hardier and tend towards a perennial life cycle. Specifically, sweet basil, the popular variety of basil grown for use in the most sublime pesto sauces, is an annual. ![]() ![]() As previously mentioned, basil is an annual in most cases.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |