You can use sweet basil used for cooking, gardening, and wellness in dozens of ways that make it one of the most helpful herbs you can grow at home. Your kitchen gets the most benefit since basil adds fresh flavor to everything from pasta sauces to cold drinks. Your garden benefits because basil helps keep pests away from other plants you're growing. And your body may benefit from the antioxidants and oils packed inside each leaf.
The basil culinary uses cover a huge range of dishes from all over the world. You can layer fresh leaves on a Caprese salad with ripe tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. You can blend them into pesto alla Genovese with pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil for a rich green sauce. Thai cooks toss basil into green curry for a fragrant finish on top. You can also muddle the leaves into lemonade for a cool summer drink. I make basil vinegar every fall by stuffing fresh leaves into a bottle with white vinegar. After two weeks of soaking, it turns into an amazing dressing base. You can drizzle it on just about anything in your kitchen all year long.
The biggest tip I can give you about cooking with basil is to add your leaves at the very end of making your dish. I made my first batch of pesto with fresh Genovese basil from a windowsill pot. The flavor blew store-bought jars away and the whole kitchen smelled amazing. But when I tossed leaves into a simmering sauce too early the next week, the taste vanished in minutes. The oils that give basil its flavor, like linalool and eugenol, escape into the air fast with heat. That's why chefs treat basil as a finishing herb that goes on right before serving.
Your garden gets a real boost when you plant basil near your other crops. Basil placed next to your tomatoes helps keep aphids and whiteflies away from your food. Those same aromatic oils that taste great in your food also confuse the noses of common garden pests. A row of basil along your patio edge makes outdoor dinners more pleasant during bug season too. Your basil plants will also attract bees when they flower, which helps your whole garden produce more fruit and vegetables over the season.
People have used basil for wellness for hundreds of years across many cultures around the globe. Indian healers use holy basil for stress support and calming the mind. Sweet basil's eugenol content gives it mild properties that fight swelling in your body. Some people brew basil tea to settle an upset stomach or calm a headache after a long day at work. Researchers have found 54 plant compounds inside sweet basil leaves that show promise in lab tests so far. You should treat these perks as bonuses of eating a healthy herb. They aren't cures for any medical condition.
Here's how you can get the most out of your sweet basil starting today. Pair it with tomatoes, mozzarella, garlic, and olive oil for Italian flavor on pasta nights. Tear the leaves by hand to avoid browning from a knife blade. Drop them onto your hot dishes right before you serve your food at the table. For drinks and desserts, muddle a few leaves with sugar to release the oils before you mix anything together. One basil plant on your counter gives you fresh leaves all season and costs less than two dollars at most nurseries. You'll find yourself reaching for it every time you cook once you see how much fresh flavor it adds to your meals.
Read the full article: Sweet Basil: Varieties, Growing, and Uses
