# Preserving Basil



## JohnT (Oct 6, 2010)

Anyone got any ideas on preserving basil. I find that (during the winter) I go into basil withdrawl and the price of fresh basil is enough to give you a heart attack!.


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## BobF (Oct 6, 2010)

JohnT said:


> Anyone got any ideas on preserving basil. I find that (during the winter) I go into basil withdrawl and the price of fresh basil is enough to give you a heart attack!.


 
The wife harvests stalks, washes and lets dry. She puts the basil in bunches, inside a paper bag with the stems up and tightly rubberbands the top of the bag around the stems.

She's been doing this for years with no ill effects


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## deboard (Oct 6, 2010)

We bring a plant inside in a pot every year, doesn't do as well as outside, but ours produces enough to get by.


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## Runningwolf (Oct 6, 2010)

I am thinking how pretty one branch of that along with one cayane pepper would look in each bottle of my jalapeno wine.


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## BIGJEFF (Oct 6, 2010)

Runningwolf said:


> I am thinking how pretty one branch of that along with one cayane pepper would look in each bottle of my jalapeno wine.



can one actualy do that? add herbs & stuff to wine...would make a kickass presentation for pepper wine for christmas gifts!!


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## Runningwolf (Oct 6, 2010)

BIGJEFF said:


> can one actualy do that? add herbs & stuff to wine...would make a kickass presentation for pepper wine for christmas gifts!!



Yes you can but I understand it will cloud the wine a bit after a while.


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## MN-winer (Oct 7, 2010)

I made pesto and froze it and its still good from last season. Maybe if you freeze the basil in olive oil it will keep.


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## Gumjump (Feb 11, 2011)

I know i'm a little late but you'll have this for next year. I pick my basis and spin it dry. Then I put it in the food processor and start it going. I then drizzle in olive oil until it just coats it. Then take a big piece of saran wrap and lay it on the counter. Put your basil mixture on this and form a long log. Now you have to wrap it. It will be like a long cigar as thick as you want. I then frezze it and when I want to use fom for pesto or whatever you can just take it out and cut what you need. And then put the rest back in the freezer. How easy is that .


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## Julie (Feb 11, 2011)

Gumjump said:


> I know i'm a little late but you'll have this for next year. I pick my basis and spin it dry. Then I put it in the food processor and start it going. I then drizzle in olive oil until it just coats it. Then take a big piece of saran wrap and lay it on the counter. Put your basil mixture on this and form a long log. Now you have to wrap it. It will be like a long cigar as thick as you want. I then frezze it and when I want to use fom for pesto or whatever you can just take it out and cut what you need. And then put the rest back in the freezer. How easy is that .



Well you can be late but this is a great idea, thanks for posting


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## AlFulchino (Feb 11, 2011)

my grandfather would take inside and cut the main stem and hang upside down until it was crispy and then he would just crunch the leaves in his hands and lay out on the cutting board and then sweep into a jar for use in the winter


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## Runningwolf (Feb 11, 2011)

Thats the way I am familiar with it being done also Al. You could use a food dehydrator.


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## MFC (Feb 14, 2011)

I typically will do two things with basil. I either dry it by putting it under a glass dish in the sun during the summer and crumble it up into pieces like you would get from a food store or just rip the leaves off the plant (do not wash them) stick them in a plastic bag and freeze them. When the thaw out they are pretty good for most recipes but nothing beats fresh just picked. Hope this helps


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## AlFulchino (Feb 14, 2011)

other idea..a lady in our neighborhood takes the leaves and places them in ice cube trays and freezes them...then at a late date uses them in broths and other things


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## ffemt128 (Feb 14, 2011)

AlFulchino said:


> other idea..a lady in our neighborhood takes the leaves and places them in ice cube trays and freezes them...then at a late date uses them in broths and other things



I've heard of this one before. How about seal them with a food saver, it would be mostly airtight and should last a while.


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## Airplanedoc (Feb 14, 2011)

I vote for Pesto


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## Minnesotamaker (Feb 15, 2011)

Gumjump said:


> I know i'm a little late but you'll have this for next year. I pick my basis and spin it dry. Then I put it in the food processor and start it going. I then drizzle in olive oil until it just coats it. Then take a big piece of saran wrap and lay it on the counter. Put your basil mixture on this and form a long log. Now you have to wrap it. It will be like a long cigar as thick as you want. I then frezze it and when I want to use fom for pesto or whatever you can just take it out and cut what you need. And then put the rest back in the freezer. How easy is that .



I think I saw it done this way in a _Cheech & Chong_ movie once. 






I do a lot of cooking and preserving, but I haven't done much with herbs; I usually just buy them dry. Thinking of doing an herb garden this upcoming summer. Anyone have a book or website that they can recommend for growing and saving herbs (the legal kind)?


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## Redtrk (Feb 15, 2011)

Runningwolf said:


> Thats the way I am familiar with it being done also Al. You could use a food dehydrator.



That's what we do. Put in the dehydrator and dry it out. We then put in a ziplock for storage until we need it.


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## morg-cas (Feb 15, 2011)

What mum does is to set the basil leaves on layers of sea salt. I tried it recently and here is what i did, i poured a layer of salt on a plastic container enough to cover the bottom. Add the layer of basil but make sure that the leaves do not overlap one another as this will leave “weak spots” on the leaves. Cover it with another layer of salt. Repeat it until you fill the plastic container. Even up to months after, it’s still well preserved.


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## Gumjump (Mar 11, 2011)

I use my dehydrator for all my herbs. Then I put them if canning jars. Nothing like fresh parsley. No comparison to the store bought. I do some basil for pesto though.


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## tonyt (Mar 11, 2011)

I do all three of the following:
Make Pesto with some and freeze.
Freeze some in ice trays with water, about 6-8 real nice leafs per cube. Empty the frozen cubes into giant zip loc bag.
Dry some in garage then crumble in hand (like Al's Grandpa).
Oh yea, eat as much as possible with Roma Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella

BTW planted three bushes two weeks ago for this season.


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## AlFulchino (Mar 11, 2011)

not fair...only a texan can say he planted a basil ***bush***

for us northerners, its an annual and bushes are shrubs


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## docanddeb (Mar 13, 2011)

I plant some in a pot at the beginning of gardening season and grow it in semi-shade. As the cold weather approaches... bring it in the house to grow all winter. I just keep pinching off the flower stalks. I still have basil growing now. The stem gets woody, but if you keep trimming... it is great! I grow Rosemary in the house too... it never goes outside. Thyme grows well inside too. I haven't had good luck with my dehydrated basil tasting very good. I'll just keep growing it fresh!

Debbie


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## JPR (Apr 28, 2011)

I grow basil year-round as Debbie does and prefer flesh over dried. However, basil liqueur may be the best way to "preserve" it. It's great ice cold! Here is a recipe:

http://www.msadventuresinitaly.com/blog/2007/10/23/basilcello-basil-liquor-recipe/


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## Gumjump (Apr 30, 2011)

Now this sounds very interesting. I'm definately going to try this recipe. I can't wait to plant my garden. We're a little cooler here in Maine, but will start in the next week or two. Thanks for the link.


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## docanddeb (Apr 30, 2011)

Mmmmmm.... I might have to come up with more ideas for my basil. This year's crop has just germinated... won't be long now!

Debbie


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