Basil storage rules
Basil is a very healthy plant. It has a specific aroma similar to mustard. Basil is used to season various meat dishes, add it to sauces, dry it, and eat it fresh in salads.
Basil contains a large amount of vitamin C, carotene and camphor, as well as rutin, which help to cope with the effects of smoking and respiratory diseases.
Basil is planted after the air temperature rises to +18ABOUTC. Basil is an annual shrub that does not withstand even minimal frosts, so you can cut the greens only in the summer. Once harvested, the cut basil will wither quickly. Even if you put it in a vase of water, keep greens until winter will not work. It will not be possible to grow it in indoor conditions, since basilica requires direct sunlight. To enjoy the greenery of the basil all year round, you can freeze it. Read:basil purple health benefits and harms!
Freezing basil
You need to cut the stems of the basil and separate the leaves from them. Finely chop the stems, then rinse them with warm water. You do not need to cut the leaves, since they contain the largest amount of essential oils, and if the structure of the leaf is disturbed, it will lose its properties after freezing. The stems and leaves are refrigerated. After two days in the refrigerator, the basil is sprinkled with sunflower or olive oil, placed in a bag and sent to the freezer.
With this storage method, thawed basil will quickly lose its flavor. Therefore, it is better to grind the stems and leaves and mix with sunflower oil to a state of gruel. The oil will bind the basil juice, so that it will not lose its beneficial qualities.
Place the gruel in ice cube trays and send to the freezer. The portioned cubes are very convenient for preparing many dishes. If you defrost a few of these cubes, you can make a fragrant oil from them. The ice cube can be added whole to warm sauce. The only drawback of this storage method is that crushed cubes cannot be added to salads, as it contains a lot of oil saturated with a strong smell of basil, which will overpower the taste of other products.
If you harvested basil during flowering, cut off all the flower stalks, as they cannot be preserved. But you don't need to throw away the flowers, if you add them to sunflower oil, then you will get a less strong aroma. This oil can be used to season salads.