Yes, pesto is delightful, but what if you have your basil is overly bountiful? Our solution (pardon the pun) is to drink our basil!

Stay Hydrated in the Summer

Yep, I don’t like to drink plain water. It is boring – but worse, since it lacks electrolytes it can pull those essential minerals out of your blood stream. Biological truth that. The lining of your intestines allows for something called homeostasis. This means that the mineral content on both sides of the intestinal lining will try to match up. Too few minerals in your intestines means those minerals can come out of your blood and go into your intestines so they can function properly.

Drinking enough liquid is very important – but it needs to be liquids like a electrolyte filled Honey Water. Or possibly some mineral rich Summer Soup. A batch of good old fashioned Switchel is good too. When health care people want you to drink more water, they are half right.  It should be liquid, but not a sugar filled drink – which puts undue strain on your kidneys – instead it should be a mineral rich drink – like this basil lemonade.

Here’s my two favorite ways to DRINK basil.

Basil Lemonade

Ingredients

     3 to 5 leaves of fresh basil
     1 cup water
     juice from 1 lemon (roughly 2 Tablespoons)
     honey to taste

Step one
Place basil leave in the bottom of your large glass and “muddle” it. This is the term for bruising it really well to bring out the oils. The back of a spoon works, or they make a special tool.  Or even use mortar and pestle.

Step two
Add the lemon juice. Doing this right away helps the basil from oxidizing and turning brown.

Step three
Add water and honey to taste. Stir to blend. Then add the ice.

Desert Lavender Basil Lemonade

This uses that simple syrup we made before with desert lavender. If you don’t have any on hand, how to make simple syrup is below. As I was writing this I realize that I could use desert lavender infused honey instead. 

Make the Basil Lemonade from above, only sweeten with Desert Lavender Simple Syrup.  Garnish with some fresh lavender for that ooh-lala look.

Simple Syrup

To make simple syrup, use a 1:1 ratio of water and white sugar. Simple syrup can be plain sugar syrup or can be flavored with many different herbs.  Mint is the most common herb for flavoring simple syrup and is used mint juleps.

Simple Syrup Ingredients
     1 cup water
     1 cup sugar
     1 /4 cup dried herb

Bring sugar and water to a boil and remove from heat.
Add desert lavender or other herb.  Desert lavender is Condea emoryi, a lovely shrub with edible flowers.

You take the boiling liquid off the heat because we want to infuse flavor (make a tea), not make a decoction. Decoctions boil the herbs and can be bitter or even contain undesireable plant compounds. There are very few medicinal uses for plants that call for decoctions. Infusions contain the tasty oils and are used for culinary purposes.

Which Basil To Use

Basil loves the summer heat because it is native to India and other tropical regions of Asia. It has been cultivated for over 5,000 years with a long and rich tradition of use, a tale that could fill books. More about basil in general in an earlier post of ours.  Other ways to use the basil bounty.

Four Common Basils Grown

Each one of these offers a different flavor profile to your basil lemonade.

sweet or Genoese basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Asian or Thai basil (Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora)
lemon basil (Ocimum X citriodorum)
holy basil or tulsi (was Ocimum sanctum, now considered Ocimum canum)

A Suite of Basils

Most commercially available basils are cultivars of the sweet basil mentioned above. With over 150 cultivars available and more new ones every year, it’s hard to keep up with them all. To grow in the Southwest, in general, go with the basils with smaller leaves (need less water) and purple leaf colors (less likely to sunburn). More about growing basil on Gardening With Soule.

Partial List of Basils

Botany Nerd notes that some of these basils are named cultivars (‘name’) while others are hybrid cultivars (X). Maybe only a botany nerd would care, and AI, being unhuman (and inhuman), most assuredly doesn’t care and generally gets it wrong. Here are the correct scientific names.  

Why bother?  Because if you know the name you know something of the history of the plant – but also it helps give a hint about flavors you might expect.

African blue basil (Ocimum basilicum X Ocimum kilimandscharicum) 
camphor basil, African basil (Ocimum kilimandscharicum)
'Cinnamon' basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Cinnamon')
'Dark Opal' basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Dark Opal')
Genoese or Italian basil (Ocimum basilicum)
globe basil, dwarf basil, French basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Minimum')
hoary or frosted basil (Ocimum canum)
holy basil (was Ocimum sanctum, now considered Ocimum canum)
lemon basil (Ocimum X citriodorum)
lettuce-leaf basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Crispum')
Mrs Burns' famous lemon basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Mrs Burns' Famous Lemon')
purple basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Purpurescens')
Queen of Siam basil (Ocimum basilicum var. citriodorum)
Rubin basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Rubin')
sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum)

But Wait – There’s More!

Basil can be used in so many other ways , but that will have to be a post for another day.

Here’s The Cookbook!

May we suggest our dandy little cookbook?   Using Honey in New and Savory Ways offers 36 pages of tips for using honey in your cooking, as well as in all manner of dishes.

We hope you will help support some local Southwest folks!
From the review:
“Honey is for more than desserts and this book can help! Using honey in cooking savory dishes helps engage all your taste buds and adds a layer of added flavor to everyday dishes – plus holiday fare.”

Beekeeper?  We offer volume discounts – because if you sell honey in local markets you might want to offer some of these books as well.

Legal Note

© Article copyright Savor the Southwest // Jacqueline A. Soule. All rights reserved. You must ask permission to republish an entire blog post or article. Okay to use a short excerpt but you must give proper credit. You must include a link back to the original post on our site. No stealing photos.

Disclaimer

The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.