Thursday, July 18, 2013

Keeping Basil Fresh

Fresh herbs in summer always make me smile! There's nothing better than picking them from your very own garden. They make any dish taste crisp, fresh and delicious!

One of my favorite herbs to grow is basil. It's so easy and it grows so well, almost too well sometimes! The thing with basil is that you have to "pinch" it before it flowers or the leaves will start to taste bitter. But what do you do if you need to pick your basil and you're not ready for it? Of course you can make some wonderful pesto, but I found a way to keep your picked basil "just picked fresh" for several days. 

All you need is a cooling rack and Tupperware bowl filled with water.
Sure you can put your stems in a glass, but the cooling rack keeps just the ends in the water. No soggy leaves here! The key is to have them in the water right after you pick them. If that's not possible just trim the ends again before you put them in the water.

Here's what my basil looks like 6 days after it was picked. The leaves are still perky and crisp and look and feel like the leaves still in the garden. As an added bonus, my kitchen smells wonderful!
I haven't tried it with store bought herbs, but I think I'm going to give it a try. I hate when I buy them and then they go bad a day or two later. So frustrating!

Do you have any tips or tricks you use to keep your herbs just-picked-fresh? Shout them out! We'd love to hear them!

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