How to Harvest and Store Basil

Basil varieties come in enough flavors and intensities to suit any cooking style from Provençal to Vietnamese. And its multitude of attractive colors, shapes and textures earn basil a prime spot in any ornamental garden.

Basil Seeds
Basil Plants
Bypass Pruners
Gardening Gloves
Butter
Olive (not Virgin) Oil
Cookie Sheets
Ice Cube Trays
Plastic Food Containers
Plastic food containers
Cookie sheets

Instructions

- 1
  Pick young basil leaves whenever you want to use them throughout the growing season.
- 2
  Harvest entire branches just before the plants bloom.
- 3
  Try to pick basil in the morning after the dew has dried but before the sun's heat dissipates the essential oils that give it its intense flavor.
- 4
  Pinch the leaves from the stems, spread them on cookie sheets and freeze them. Transfer the frozen leaves to plastic containers and put them back into the freezer for use throughout the winter.
- 5
  Mix finely chopped fresh basil leaves with just enough olive oil or butter to bind them together, then freeze the mixture in ice cube trays.

How to Use Basil

Growing Basil