Basil Ocimum basilicum

Basil is one of the best loved culinary herbs for good reason. Basil improves appetite and like other herbs in the mint family it settles the stomach, improves appetite and is a natural disinfectant. Basil is known for its many varieties, many with distinct aromas that come from different qualities in their essential oils contained in the leaves. The strong clove scent of sweet basil comes from eugenol, the citrus scent of lemon basil and lime basil comes from a higher portion of the aldehyde citral and limonene, which gives actual lemon peel its scent. African blue basil has a strong camphor smell because it has camphor and camphene in higher proportions. Anise basil contains anethole, the same chemical that makes anise smell like licorice, and in fact is sometimes called anise basil. All basils are antibacterial and act as good insect repellents, and as Culpepper noted, “Being applied to the place bitten by venomous beasts, or stung by a wasp or hornet, it speedily draws the poison to it”

Basil, Ocimum sanctum, was originally a native plant of India and its use only spread outwards to Europe and the West in the sixteenth century. Ocimum sanctum, or Tulsi as it is known in Hindu, is used in traditional in religious ceremonies and in ayurvedic medicine for common colds, headaches, stomach disorders, inflammation, heart disease, various forms of poisoning, and malaria. ¹²⁷

Whatever culinary delight you are planning, be it pesto or a simple tomato and basil sandwich, the burst of aroma that emanates from fresh basil has an almost magical ability to make you feel happy for no apparent reason. A pot of basil growing in the kitchen window will not only provide zest to winter dishes, it will inspire dreams of spring during the cold, dreary days of winter.