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Among perpetual kitchen aggravations, storing fresh basil is up there. Leave it out, and it's wilted or dead in no time. Put it in the fridge, and it turns black. If storing fresh basil gives you a headache, imagine the poor basil growers. How do you get it to market without wrecking it, and how do you store it once it's there?
Jim Simon may be about to solve these problems. He's a Rutgers University professor of plant biology and plant pathology who also runs the New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products Program there. And he loves basil. So he and his team of researchers figured out how to cultivate chill-resistant basil.
No genetic engineering here -- just good old-fashioned hybridization. In 2002 they started with more 6,700 individual plants and began subjecting them to cold temperatures, selecting out the ones that did okay. Then they had to figure out which ones smelled and tasted best. After that, they started crossbreeding the best of the best.
"Right now we have over 25 new lines including 15 hybrids that look very good and we're challenging them to taste test and chilling," Simon said. "Of those, there are about four that rise about the rest."
And don't just take his word for it. Turns out Simon and crew have been slipping their basil creations into taste tests for two years now at the Rutgers' annual Great Tomato Tasting at their main research farm in Pittstown, N.J. A little mozzarella, a little oil and a little basil and voila – lots of takers and lots of good feedback.
Simon and company have a good track record with transferring their research of all sorts (he's also a big pepper researcher) into useful products available to the general public. The organic basil they developed that's resistant to the basil-killing disease fusarium is already on the market under the name Poppy Joe's basil -- Poppy Joe being Simon's grandfather. And he's just starting work on a basil that is resistant to the disease downy mildew.
He expects the chill-resistant version to be on the market in about a year.
"It's going to be an Italian basil that looks good, that tastes and smells great and has chilling resistance," he said.
Break out the pasta.
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4-26-2010 @6:34PM katherine Hunter said... keep basil fresh at home by putting it in a glass or jar of water / not only will it stay fresh it will root and can be planted.
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4-28-2010 @10:59AM Rob said... Great tips.. we are cooking a lot more and use basil in many of our soups and sauces. We had to resort to the dried basil, but fresh is soo much better and will be definitely growing it in the herb garden.. I couldn't cook for crap.. and my gf started making me get into the kitchen once a week.. it was a rule!.. To help me.. she got me this beginners cookbook that was perfect.. hilarious, guy-like and completely politically incorrect.. I can't tell you the name of it cause some of you folks will kill me.. but if you can take a good joke.. google "Get in the Kitchen Cookbook" and you will find it.. it is freaken hilarious... but dont google it if you get offended easily.. seriously.. don't.
4-27-2010 @12:56PM Harold said... I'm so glad to see they aren't trying to change it by splicing and dicing genes but are doing it the old fashioned way.
Katherine's right, too. It's a real easy plant to grow, though obviously restaurants need larger quantities than home chefs. What I love is the wide variety of flavors you can find basil in.
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4-27-2010 @6:31PM Rt said... Harold, seriously?
In one sentence you say "I'm so glad to see they aren't trying to change it by..."
Then you say "What I love is the wide variety of flavors you can find basil in. "
I thot basil tasted like basil.
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4-28-2010 @6:56AM MSCHARLTT said... You can also put it in plastic bags and freeze it. I also take Fresh Basil and chop it in the food processor with a little water and then pour it into ice cube trays once they are frozen then they go into a plastic bag or bowl to use later.
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4-28-2010 @7:17AM Darlene said... Basil is so easy to grow and with a southerly window and small pot using good potting soil, you can enjoy fresh basil anytime. If you have a small lawn, just toss a few seeds in a spot with the grass removed and you will be surprised. By using a grow light, not only Basil but Oregano, Thyme and Garlic Chives can be grown. I read an article why Herbs smell and taste as they do, over millions of years, certain plants such as herbs evolved by tasting and smelling bad to critters and insects who otherwise would graze on them.
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4-28-2010 @8:14AM Linda said... One way we keep Basil all year round is after it is picked we wash it and lay it on the counter and pat it dry.. they we take each leaf and put it in a container one on top of the other and seal it in a tupperware or rubbermaid container each will keep the air out .. then we put it in the freezer.. and each time we want Basil that comes very close to fresh we take some pieces out.. and return the container to the freezer.. this way we have basil all year round until the next summer.. Italian familys use alot of basil so this is whay we do .. just like gramma use to..
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4-28-2010 @9:49AM andy said... The article has nothing to do with storing basil- whoever writes the caption is misleading the reader.
4-28-2010 @10:45AM pat desimone said... i buy basil bunches with roots still on them at vegatable store,then transpant them to pot on patio in summer and bring them in in for winter,just remember to pinch off the flowers that come up and the basil will grow very bushy and lush,i make pesto with the excess, freeze it without the grated cheese and have it all winter long with pasta or rice or put it in stews
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4-28-2010 @9:52AM mikejarosz said... What do you mean they are not slicing and dicing genes? Old fashioned hybridization is a technique to manipulate the genes of an existing variety. What do you think dog breeders do? Have you ever compared the tulips in your garden with the wild variety growing in the mountains of Turkey? What made cucumbers edible? Where did the white marigold come from?
As noted in the article, this has been a slow, laborious process of trial and error. Modern genetic techniques have been found to speed it up the process. What I believe you are reacting to is the use of lab techniques to insert unrelated DNA into plants to give them traits they have never possessed. An example might be inserting bacillus thurengiensis DNA into wheat, making the wheat plant resistant to insects. These are sometimes called "Frankenfoods".
Just remember this: almost everything you eat has been hybridized, but not by genetic engineering in the chemlab. It was done through the patience of biologists and geneticists like those at Rutgers planting thousands and thousands of crosses and evaluating the results. Like the frost that killed an entire field of basil, except for one plant. You can bet that one one plant was collected and propagated in seed trials...........
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4-28-2010 @10:40AM LJ said... Most supermarkets now sell herb plants in small pots. They last forever by just watering them - and are cheaper. Our kitchen counter is lined with herbs - when the leaves are done, we throw out the plastic pots and buy replacements. So much fresher, less work, cheaper and fun on the table.
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4-28-2010 @10:50AM Bob said... This is the BEST way to store it.....put basil in a food processor / blender and add oil until it makes a paste. Wrap in individual plastic wrap in a 3 or 4 inch square.....1/4 inch thick. Freeze and when you need it just cut off the amount you want with a sharp knife. Not only will it stay green but the aroma and taste will be as good as fresh. When I make sauce I just plop it in the pot and watch it melt. I do this every summer and have fresh tasting basil all winter long.
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4-28-2010 @12:30PM TP said... I also add olive oil and blend the basil into a mixture, then pat into ice cube trays and freeze. pop out the basil cubes and store in plastic bag or container. very easy to add into sauces and soups this way!
4-28-2010 @11:10AM Barb said... I wonder why.....people have to write a "BOOK" to tell you something simple ? I don't have time to read lengthy articles. Facts....give me facts.
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4-28-2010 @11:47AM j said... Oh thank heaven . I have been searching my entire life for a solution to this issue .
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4-28-2010 @1:42PM Carol said... I've tried countless ways to store basil. Most of the time it turns dark. I mostly use it with tomato sauce, so I get a box of small ziplocs a can of tomato puree and I wash my leaves, put in a few spoons of puree, and some salt, as many leaves as I like in my sauce, mix them together in the bag, let out air, seal up, and put in freezer. When I make a sauce, I simply take a bag out of the freezer, and toss it in. The leaves stay green, and are just like adding fresh basil to your sauce.
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4-28-2010 @1:09PM Sue Barr said... Wow, I'm really impressed both about the basil and that Joe Simon isn't resorting to genetic engineering to make basil keep from turning black. Some of the old tried and true ways are definitely better for the consumer! Keep of the great work professor!
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4-28-2010 @4:58PM Patrick Moser said... I grow lots of basil commercially. I found out by accident how to keep it fresh for days (almost a week) after harvest. Simply cover the leaves with a damp towel at room temperature. Done! No need for weird experiments.
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4-28-2010 @2:27PM sandra grants pass or said... We are nuts for basil!! I plant from seed. They are vvery hearty. You must keep harvesting so they grow faster. At the end of the season I make lots of pesto. The best way I have found that takes less space in the freezer. Is to put the pesto in zip lock frreezer bags. Yhe lay flat and when you want some just break off what you need. yum.
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