Steenbergs Organic Basil

Organic Basil has a refreshing, anise like flavour that is uniquely basil but with more clove and allspice in its bouquet than fresh basil leaves and less of the aromatic top notes. The dried herb is much less intense than the fresh one and is not a perfect match. Indeed, they lose the fragrant top notes but have a more spicy bouquet.

Organic Basil works well with vegetables like courgette, aubergine and butternut squash or in tomato sauces for pasta or pizza toppings.

One of the key Mediterranean herbs, its flavour is almost addictive, and there is little that a bit of basil cannot improve. Known as a tomato’s best friend, it is also delicious on chicken, fish, pasta, stew, salads and vegetables. Add basil in the last 10 minutes of cooking as heat will dissipate its sweet, rich flavour. Fresh is best for salads and as a garnish but dried basil is excellent in cooking – a reminder of sun-kissed holidays in the Mediterranean.

Axel’s Tasting Notes: Strongly Herbal; faintly minty, spicy peppery flavours and hints of allspice.

More about Basil

An important culinary herb, the name basil has been attributed to several sources. The one that seems most fitting to us is that it comes from the Greek basileus, meaning king. Apparently, the ancient Greeks themselves thought that only the King should cut basil leaves, using a golden sickle! More recently, farmer’s wives gave gifts of potted basil to friends for cooking and to keep away flies. This tradition has sadly died out in Britain but continues in France, Italy and Greece.

Basil is an annual of the mint family, Ocimum basilicum. It is a small bushy plant that grows profusely and up to 60 cm in height. The leaves are glossy and a greyish colour. The flowers are green-purple with a hint of white in colour.

To harvest basil, the branches are cut off just before the flowers are due to appear, but by cutting back only part of the way to the ground there is often a chance of a second crop that season.