Basil for the single person :-)

B

babycheeks(=

New member
Have there been any developments in the problem of buying and using
basil where one person is concerned. I can't think of any dish that I
make for myself that uses a whole bunch of basil as sold in the stores
and a bunch is often quite expensive, say $2.50. At that price I'd like
to keep the basil for a couple of weeks but I am not interested in
gardening in my kitchen (I don't have any suitable window-sills anyway.)
Have there been any ideas to store basil without a great deal of fuss?
--


James Silverton, Potomac

"Not": obvious change in "Reply To"
 
James Silverton wrote:

We buy both garlic and basil frozen. It's a small package with
individual little cubes of crushed herb - think ice cube tray and you'll
have the idea. The brand is Dorot and it's carried in most of the local
grocery stores. Works great, obviously not quite a flavorful as fresh
but convenience does count for something. The basil is good enough that
we make pesto from it.

Then again, spending $2.50 and getting a few meals from it over the
space of a week or so doesn't sound like a bad thing to me, either.

-S-
 
On 3/5/2011 10:47 AM, Pete C. wrote:

Thanks but my impression is that dried basil loses much of its flavor.
You can even buy basil flakes but they don't seem to have much taste.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

"Not": obvious change in "Reply To"
 
On 3/5/2011 9:30 AM, James Silverton wrote:


Do you have a sunny windowsill? Grow your own and pick what you need.

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.
 
On 3/5/2011 10:46 AM, Steve Freides wrote:
Thanks! I know about the frozen basil and also store-bought tubed basil
pesto. These are quite useful but are not the same thing as fresh basil
either in taste or texture. I am unlikely to make more than one dish
needing basil in the course of a week and a bunch of basil gets pretty
wilted after a week in the fridge. I use more cilantro than basil and it
only lasts a week but a bunch costs me 70 cents.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

"Not": obvious change in "Reply To"
 
On 3/5/2011 11:07 AM, Janet Wilder wrote:
As I said in my post, I'm not an indoor gardener even if I have a rubber
plant, a philodendron and a sanseveria all about 40 years old! The
rubber tree has been cloned about 8 times so far to reduce its size.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

"Not": obvious change in "Reply To"
 
On Mar 5, 8:18?am, James Silverton wrote:

In grocery stores here there are basil plants sold with a little root
ball still attached on the plant.
I buy one and put it in a tall glass with a little bit of water and
use the leaves as I need them. It lasts
at least a week or more.
 
On 3/5/2011 9:30 AM, James Silverton wrote:

For use in cooking I generally would run it through the food processor
then put it in ice cube trays, freeze, then bag for later use when
cooking a meal. You can also make pesto sans the cheese, freeze on a bun
tray, then bag for later use on about anything.
 
On Mar 5, 8:47?am, ImStillMags wrote:

oh...and In the stores where I shop that basil is not over where the
herbs are sold. It's usually with the
fresh greens and stuff. They have it in one of those black v shaped
flower holders usually. You have to
look around for it.
 
On Mar 5, 10:30?am, James Silverton wrote:

I would use whatever fresh I needed, then dry the rest in my
dehydrator. Or make a honkin' big pot of tomato sauce, use the rest
of the basil and freeze the sauce in small batches.
 
James Silverton wrote:

There's a brand called Olivia's Garden that comes with a little root ball.
You can pluck leaves off for a few days without the whole thing dying.

Another solution is to buy a lot of it when the price is more reasonable--or
grow it if you have the right kind of spot--and make a sort of pesto base
with just basil and olive oil, or just basil, olive oil, and garlic. I
freeze it in an 8" pan, then turn it out and chop into cubes that I store in
a bag in the freezer.
 
"James Silverton" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| Have there been any developments in the problem of buying and using
| basil where one person is concerned. I can't think of any dish that I
| make for myself that uses a whole bunch of basil as sold in the stores
| and a bunch is often quite expensive, say $2.50. At that price I'd like
| to keep the basil for a couple of weeks but I am not interested in
| gardening in my kitchen (I don't have any suitable window-sills anyway.)
| Have there been any ideas to store basil without a great deal of fuss?
| --

Given that you want it to stay in a fresh state, the following
article is well-researched and works for me:
http://tinyurl.com/2dysuwf
good luck
pavane
 
On 3/5/2011 12:30 PM, Janet wrote:
Thanks! Taste and texture are different things. For example, when making
Thai food I only add the basil a few minutes before serving. To me, if
you cook basil for a long time, it might as well be cooked spinach,
which I don't like either.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

"Not": obvious change in "Reply To"
 
On 3/5/2011 12:34 PM, [email protected] wrote:

That's getting into kitchen gardening for me :-) I like to minimize the
number of jars and bottles on the bench since they breed like rabbits. I
just noticed that I had three bottles of olive oil! I've seen rather
overpriced plastic containers with a water supply that I may have to
investigate.

Pavane agrees with you, http://tinyurl.com/2dysuwf
basil tends to blacken in the fridge.




--


James Silverton, Potomac

"Not": obvious change in "Reply To"
 
On Mar 5, 10:30 am, James Silverton wrote:

The "stick it a glass of water" method is low fuss as mentioned.
Picking off the leaves and putting them in a baggie, squeezing out the
air, and freezing them keeps them pretty green and tasty, even if the
texture is wilted when thawed out. Pesto is good, too, of course.
Drying isn't as interesting - quite a bit of flavor is lost IMO.

But what I really want to address is the "using" basil part of your
initial question.

One of our favorite meals is a variation on salad Nicoise: Layers of
tomato slices, cooked (and dressed) ziti or penne, green beans, and
fresh basil leaves, with tuna (canned or fresh seared), anchovies,
capers, hardboiled egg slices, Nicoise olives, of course, and a lemony
garlicky anchovy vinaigrette over all. Uses up a *lot* of fresh
basil!

You can also use up a lot by lining (fresh) spring roll wrappers with
them before rolling up the (presumably Thai) filling in them.

Occasionally I'll make a "white" grilled-chicken (or whatever you
prefer) pizza with a healthy layer of basil leaves between the crust
and the topping(s). Uses up a fair amount of basil and is easier than
making pesto.

--
Silvar Beitel
(basil lover and very occasional poster)
 
On Mar 5, 11:04?am, James Silverton wrote:

Buy it dried from Penzeys. LOTS of flavor, buy the small jar and
you'll be fine. keep it in a drawer away from a heat source and it
will last you a year for under $2. I realized I had never actually
tasted dried basil (or many other herbs, for that matter) until I
started buying from Penzeys. Also, basil does not hold up to long
cooking. Add it shortly before serving and you won't lose the flavor.
That is true of fresh and dried.

There is a Penzeys in Rockville MD and Falls Church VA. If they are
not near you, you can order online. Of course you'll pay for shipping
but you'd pay for gas to get there, too. Shipping costs for a $20
order will run you less than the current price of 2 gallons of gas!!

www.penzeys.com

No longer an employee of Penzeys, but a satisfied customer for 15
years.
 
On Mar 5, 12:38?pm, James Silverton wrote:

It's not just you: basil does not hold up to long cooking. It should
be added at the end of cooking. Basil is a top note. It doesn't last
long enough to be anything but.

I highly recommend dried herbs from Penzeys. They will last a year if
stored away from heat and light and their flavors are bright and true.
Much better than most of the other dried herbs available in the
supermarket, and as long as you stick to their individual herbs, much
less expensive. I use their dried herbs almost exclusively. The only
time I buy fresh herbs, it's dill or parsley, and it's only when I
know will be able to use the entire bunch (such as when making chicken
stock).
 
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