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How To Preserve Thai Basil

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Basil Leaves Growing Indoors

How To Preserve Thai Basil

Welcome to this post about how to preserve thai basil. Since thai basil is a variety that can grow very quickly in the right conditions and also produce a lot of harvest, it’s a good idea to know some of the best ways to preserve it. In this article we will talk about some pretty common ways of preserving but also explain how you can ferment basil. A very old technique that is only recently starting to really gain traction. All the different approaches aim to maintain the best possible flavor of basil. All so you can use it in cooking whenever you want to.

Perhaps you’ve heard of people using basil in coffee? Well, we have written an article dedicated to this phenomenon. You can find it right here, Basil In Coffee, Is It Any Good?

Basil Growing In A Pot

How To Preserve Thai Basil

There are many ways of preserving basil and below is going to be some of our favorite ways. These have been tried and tested by both us, family members and close friends. We can proudly say that it has had a pretty good success rate actually.

Another good way of preserving it is by fermenting the thai basil. We find that the best way of doing this is by making a salt brine that contains a minimum of 2 % salt. We mix the cold water with the salt. Put the thai basil leaves in a glass jar that you can seal. Then you can pour the brine over it and then seal the jar. The process of fermenting is made up by letting beneficial bacterias turn the contents sour. it will increase the umami and deepen the flavor of whatever you are fermenting. You should also stir the leaves around and submerge them every day for the first week. This will prevent any mold forming on top. Use it in small proportions as it will be very flavorful.

Another good way is by drying the basil. This is best done with a large over tray spread out across it. Then you dry it in the oven at no more than 110 degrees. This will ensure that no flavors are lost in the drying process. Then you can keep them for however long you choose.

Basil Growing Indoors In A Pot

How To Preserve Thai Basil In Oil

Preserving thai basil in oil is one of the best ways of keeping all that good flavor. But unfortunately it’s not the technique that lasts the longest out of all these. But nonetheless it’s our  favorite. We do it by simply putting a bunch of thai basil in a blender. Then we heat oil to about 140 degrees or 70 celsius. For half a liter of basil you can use about 1 liter of oil. This will make sure you are not wasting your basil by using too little oil and also not using too much oil will dull the flavor. After you have heated the oil you can pour it over the basil and mix until very green. We recommend that you let it sit and blend for about 5 – 7 minutes. This will pulse out all the flavor and leave a fragrant and aromatic thai basil oil.

Let’s reiterate again a little bit on what we have been talking about here. Thai basil can be preserved in a number of ways. All from preserving it in oil, to fermenting the basil or simply drying it. The choice really is yours.

Maybe you are wondering if you can freeze your basil at home and if it will stay good. Then we have another article that will explain all of that. Find it here, How To Preserve And Freeze Thai Basil.

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Can You Freeze Thai Basil

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How To Preserve And Freeze Thai Basil

Welcome to this post about how you can preserve and even freeze a lot of the excess thai basil you might have stashed up from the season. Making sure you get the most out of your plants is an important part of gardening. Not wasting anything should be a priority for all. Especially when it’s your own hard work that has created these plants. In this article we will discuss some of the best techniques you can use for preservation. These vary from pickling to fermenting or simply freezing. They all have their pros and cons so follow along and we’ll discover them together.

If you are interested in preserving Thai basil in some more specific ways then we have written the perfect article for you. It covers some more fundamental ways of preserving it, find it here, How To Preserve Thai Basil.

Basil Leaves Indoors On A Table

How To Preserve And Freeze Thai Basil

Making sure that you can preserve and save all your harvest is very important to feel like the season was fulfilling, at least that is what we believe. There are many ways you can choose to preserve your thai basil. We will include some of the most common ways and also talk about freezing thai basil.

One of the best ways to preserve thai basil is by drying it. It will intensify the aromas and the flavors as the water is evaporated. There are many guides out there showing you hot to do this but we believe there is only one true way. It comes down to the temperature that you are using. We have read article after article saying that you can dry the herbs on 160 degrees for a couple of hours and be fine. This is plain false. Sure they will dry but the amount of flavor that is lost is painfully large. The best way is drying at no more than 110 degrees. If it takes more time, so be it. The end result will be so much better.

Another way of preserving basil is making pesto. It’s a condiment that you can use for a lot of stuff in your kitchen. The best part is that it will last for a very long time too. Up to many months for sure. Basil can take up a lot of space once you have harvested the leaves. Making pesto with it will also be a lot more space efficient. In all honesty as well, making pesto with thai basil is probably the best variety to use. It has a lot of spiciness and aromatics to it that really goes well with any food. Especially on a pasta salad or tossed in a warm one too.

Basil Leaves Indoors

Can You Freeze Fresh Thai Basil Leaves

Another approach you can take is freezing the basil. Then the best way is finely shredding it and then freezing it in a container. Once you need you can simply take a fork and scrape the surface until you get the amount that you want. It’s surprisingly keeps the flavor very well.

I want to reiterate again now what we have been talking about. Thai basil can be preserved in a number of ways, all from drying to making pesto and even freezing. Drying is one of our favorites because it keeps the longest. Never going over 110 degrees will also ensure you keep all the wonderful flavors.

It can sometimes be a mystery why your basil is starting to grow leggy. In this article we explain why this can happen and what some of the best solutions are. Find it here, How To Fix A Leggy Basil Plant.

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How To Fix Leggy Basil

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How To Fix A Leggy Basil Plant

Welcome to this post about how you can fix a leggy basil plant. It can be very annoying to have the basil grow this way. One of the biggest reasons for the happening is that it’s not getting enough sun during the day. It needs many hours to really promote growth in a bushy way. Otherwise it will grow this way unfortunately. But it can also be because of the health of the soil. In the article we will discuss some of the measures you can take to fix your plant. It’s not too late, even though it might be near the end of the season.

If you are growing a lot of thai basil at home and don’t know what to do with all of it then we have the perfect guide for you. It talks about making the most of the harvest, find it here, How To Preserve And Freeze Thai Basil.

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How To Fix A Leggy Basil Plant

Just like we said in the beginning of this article, the biggest reason for your basil growing the way it does is the limited access to sun it’s getting. Basil growing indoors will need up to 10 hours of light to need to be a leggy plant. If you keep it outdoors however this number goes down to 6 – 8 hours. So if you are having issues getting the sufficient amount you should consider moving it outdoors perhaps. This way you can ensure the continued growth and a bushy plant.

But the sun might not be the sole reason all the time. It can also be because of too little nutrition in the soil. Basil is a plant that does really like a healthy soil. Consider therefore using fertilizer a few times during the year. We usually recommend fertilizing the soil about 4 times a year. This amount wont overdo it and you will not accidentally stress the plant too much. The best fertilizer will always be manure be sometimes it can be hard getting a hold of it, or the fact it does not exactly smell like roses makes it appealing to use. If that is the case you can still use organic fertilizer that you should be able to get at most gardening stores.

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How Do I Make My Basil Plant Bushier

Pruning and cutting the plant the right way will also greatly affect the way the plant is growing. You always strive to cut the plant where new growth is starting to come out. Usually they will come in pairs so cutting one stem off will make room for two new ones to come forth. This can quickly multiply and make for a very bushy basil plant. But you should never cut off too much as it can also stress the plant and cause it to only grow thin offshoots. We recommend never cutting more than 30 % of the plant at once, even with that we usually tend to stay around 10 – 15 % only.

I want to reiterate again on what we have been talking about here. The biggest reason your basil is growing leggy is because it’s not getting the necessary amount of sun every day. Make sure it gets at least 7 hours if you keep it outside and indoors it will need 10 hours. Covering this step is vital to ensure it will continue growing strong and sturdy stems.

Are you maybe having issues with your basil plant going the other way and developing very woody stems? Then we have the perfect article for you, it will answer all your questions. Find it here, Basil With A Woody Stem.

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Basil Stems Turns Woody

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Basil With A Woody Stem

Welcome to this post about basil that has developed a woody stem. It can become an issue as more of the herb is not unusable. There can be a few different causes that make this happen. The most probable one is that the plant is just nearing the end of the season. As it has grown for several months without having the main stem cut off, it will begin to harden. That’s natural for most culinary herbs. As for fixing this there is not a whole lot you can do once it has started. But we will include some things to prevent it in this article.

If you are having issues with your basil growing leggy instead and not into a bushy plant like you want then we have the perfect article for you. It explains why that happens and what you can do about it. Find it here, How To Fix A Leggy Basil Plant.

Basil Growing Indoors

Basil With A Woody Stem

Just like we explained in the beginning of this article. The main reason for having a woody basil stem is because of it being old. It has simply grown long enough for it to harden. This is not really a bad thing as it indicates it has established itself and can handle rougher pruning and cutting. But it does slightly dull the flavor of the new leaves coming out of the plant.

So be wary of that. At the end of the season the plant will want to start flowering and developing seed after being pollinated. This is the only way for it to spread its genetic line and expand. To do this it needs a good foundation. Hardening the stem will make it less vulnerable and therefore this process will be easier.

Basil Leaves Indoors

As for fixing this issue there is not really a whole lot you can do once it has happened. It will most likely happen on the main stem of the plant. I never see this as an issue because I don’t prune it. I let this stem shootout with stems from it and those are the one i cut. If I cut the main stem too early then that will endanger the survival of the whole plant. It will also get a lot more bushier appearance if you stay away from doing that.

Can You Prune Woody Basil

Maybe you have done a little bit of pruning already on the plant. But the whole idea of pruning is essentially to cut off one stem and have two new stems come out. Making sure that you get this process right then if some parts of the stem is getting a woody texture shouldn’t really be a problem. Basil is a herb that only lives for a year making an annual one. So you don’t need to worry about treating it right to stay for the next year.

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Basil Indoors On The Table

I want to reiterate again on what we have been talking about in this article here. The biggest reason for your basil getting a woody stem is because it’s simply nearing the end of the growing season. It has managed to establish itself and has been healthy throughout the year. If anything you should take this as a good sign. But also start to think about cutting down the whole plant. This is because the flavor will start to dull out the further it goes now.

Are you wondering why your basil plant is beginning to develop flowers in the middle of the season? We have written an article that answers exactly that. You can find it here, Why Does My Basil Plant Have Flowers?

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Basil Plant Flowering

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Why Does My Basil Plant Have Flowers

Welcome to this post about why your basil plant is suddenly starting to develop flowers. The biggest reason for this happening is because it’s not getting pruned on the regular. That is when you quickly pick off new small flower buds developing, or just cutting off stems. What we often recommend doing is cutting and trimming the basil plant about every other week during the summer season when it’s growing the most rapidly. This will give you more basil leaves to enjoy. Follow along and we´ll give you a few more tips.

Perhaps you are having issues with your basil because it’s producing a woody stem. We have written an article explaining a lot of the stuff behind this happening. You can find it here, Basil With A Woody Stem.

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Why Does My Basil Plant Have Flowers

Just like we said in the beginning of this article, the main reason for your basil developing flowers is because it’s not getting pruned enough. That is the process of cutting of stems and small flower buds developing every other week or so. This keeps the plant in check and makes it continue growing and producing leaves. Since basil is a culinary herb that only grows for a year. We need to make the most of that year. Practicing these techniques will greatly help increases the possible harvest.

It can start developing flowers pretty early in the season actually so this is something you need to watch out for. Since it will redirect all its energy into the flowers, you will see less new growth. But even after it’s done flowering and getting pollinated it will continue using its energy to produce the seeds. Basil is a easy growing herb so if you let if go on like this you will find basil popping up everywhere and anywhere in your garden the next year.

Basil Flowering In The Garden

Is Basil Still Good After It Flowers

One of the biggest downsides of basil going to flower is that it will taste less. It will be a lot milder and it might even go over to tasting bitter instead. But the biggest pro of letting it flower is that all the bees will have even a larger source of pollen to feed on. This will further benefit the ecology in your garden. Without the bees you will not have a functioning garden. It’s that simple really, they can make or break it so keeping them happy and thriving is very important. The flowers are also very delicious on their own and can be enjoyed on a summer salad or in tea.

I want to reiterate again on what we have been talking about in this article here. The biggest reason for basil starting to develop flowers is because it’s not getting cut down or pruned enough during the season. It’s a fast growing herb so if you forget about it for just a couple of weeks you might find white or purple flowers coming out. Just make sure you harvest it every now and again. 2 weeks in between is often a good schedule to keep.

If you are having problems with your basil plants being inflicted by either fungal disease or insect ones then we have an article that talks about preventing that. You can find it right here, White Spots On Basil Plant.

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