Basil is an annual herb, with a pleasant taste and aroma, widely used in cosmetology, medicine and cooking.
Basil, known to many as a fragrant or red cornflower, is called raykhon (reagan).
It is known to housewives as a seasoning in meat dishes, soups, salads, and is famous for its aroma, which basil preserves both fresh, and frozen, and dried.
Dried basil goes well with rosemary, tarragon, garlic, sage. Basil is served with salads, beans, rice, meat, vegetables and fish.
Dried basil is added to stews, pea and bean soups. In Poland, not only scrambled eggs or meat are prepared with basil, but also cottage cheese and even yogurt are prepared.
Basil is rich in vitamins, and exceeds the flavor of mint. Basil can flavor vegetable oil and vinegar. The energy value of dried basil is 250 Kcal per 100 grams.
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Also, how to dry onions for the winter and properly store it.Basil Benefits
In nature, there are more than 35 types of basil. Originally from Eastern India, basil is known in many countries, both in Asia and in Europe.
In Transcaucasia, there is even a saying: "Whoever basil chews, he lives for a long time."
Europeans grow basil with green leaves, and Asians - with purple ("Reagan").
Italians prefer Neapolitan basil (basilico napoletano) for pesto sauce and Genoese basil (basilico genovese) for salads.
Basil, which has a wound healing, anti-inflammatory, astringent and cleansing effect, is used to treat bronchitis, prolonged cough, with catarrh of the stomach, to treat wounds and to treat headaches. Despite the many advantages, basil has contraindications.
He can not be used in ischemic heart disease, thrombophlebitis, myocardial infarction and hypertension.
How to dry basil so that it retains all its beneficial properties as much as possible?
Harvest basil
Basil leaves are cut throughout the summer and cut off before or during flowering, when there are most microelements and aromatic substances in the flower, and the basil stalks have not yet coarsened. ,
Basil is usually harvested twice, in July and at the end of September, when the second crop grows.
Basil is most often dried in a dark, well-ventilated area, in the open air, or outdoors.
Before drying the basil, some wash the basil, cut and dry the leaves, others dry it with a bundle (bush). Dried basil loses up to 80 percent moisture.
Basil, like other plants, with a large amount of essential oils, must be dried slowly, at a temperature not higher than 35-45 degrees.
At high temperatures, the essential oils evaporate, and dried basil, thus weakly retains the smell. From poor ventilation and from increased humidity, dried basil can smell hay.
Drying basil beam (bush)
You can dry the basil bush by hanging the cut tops of the basil shoots in small bunches near the kitchen window, near the stove, in a dark shed, under a shed or in the attic where the place is well ventilated and there is no sun.
It should be noted that even with a slight heat treatment basil loses its flavor. Therefore, when drying basil in the oven, the temperature in the oven should not exceed 43 degrees.
Otherwise, basil will lose all its flavor and nutrients. Drying the basil in the oven is better stirring, with the door ajar for about an hour, and then leave in the oven until the morning.
It is very good to dry basil on a clean window grid. For better circulation, window grids with raw materials should be set separately and not overlapped.
Instead of a window mesh, you can decompose basil leaves to dry on a clean gauze stretched on a frame.
Drying basil in a microwave has become a modern, convenient method of drying, where you need only a few minutes to dry the leaves and not lose their properties and flavor.
Drying in a microwave takes about 3-4 minutes at 700W. Carefully remove the dried leaves, the plate may be hot!
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Learn in detail how to dry grapes for raisins.How to dry basil leaf
If you decide to dry the basil leaves, then you need to expand them in one thin layer not on the newspaper, but on blank sheets of paper, on a paper towel, on a cloth or on a baking sheet.
Cover with gauze to protect the leaves from dust and blow-off, but it is very important that it does not interfere with air circulation.
Under a rag basil leaves may wither, the taste and smell may change.
The original and effective method of drying basil was "drying in the refrigerator" on paper napkins or foam pallets.
The cold draws water well, the products dry in the refrigerator even without a film.
Both color and smell are perfectly preserved. Depending on the intensity of cooling, basil leaves are dried after 5-7 hours.
A rare but interesting method of drying basil is considered to be blow-drying or using an electric dryer, a special dryer for vegetables and fruits.
How to store basil
Basil is dried for about 5 to 13 days, depending on air humidity and season.
After 2 weeks, you need to remove the dried branches, separate the dried leaves of basil from the twigs, and throw away the sticks.
If basil leaves have been dried whole, then it is better to chop them.
Dried leaves should be easily rubbed with fingers into powder.
Some store dry basil in paper bags or in a gauze bag. With constant contact with the air, the smell of basil evaporates.
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Greens of basil can be not only dried, but also frozen, simply by chopping the basil with a knife, spreading them out on the zips, and placing them in the freezer. So basil can be stored for up to a year, and the smell of basil is perfectly preserved.
We considered a variety of ways to prepare basil, to maximize its useful properties.
We hope that the advice given in this article will help you to preserve the grown crop of basil, which will give health to you and your family members for a whole year.
