Purple Basil - Fresh Cut

Never refrigerate basil; it blackens below about 50F. Stand the stems in water on the counter, out of direct sun, and use within three or four days. Tear rather than cut, and add off the heat.

• Grown in: Lineville, Alabama (no pesticides)
• Freshness: Harvested at peak and sold fresh
• Availability: Seasonal - local Alabama delivery & pickup
• Storage: Stems in water at room temperature, never refrigerated - 3 to 4 days

• Light: Grown in full sun through the warm season only; basil is cut before the first frost
• Water: Grown on even moisture delivered in the morning so the leaves are dry by evening
• Soil: Grown in warm, rich, well-drained soil. The beds are not planted until the soil itself is warm - basil set out into cold ground sulks for weeks and never fully recovers.
• Feeding: Fed light and regular, with the flower spikes pinched out as they appear to keep the plant making leaves instead of seed.

Can I keep it in the refrigerator?
Basil is tropical and takes chill injury below about 50°F. In a refrigerator the leaves blacken and go limp within a day. Stand the stems in a glass of water on the counter, out of direct sun, and it will hold three or four days.

Does purple basil taste different from green?
Slightly. It runs a little more clove and anise and a little less of the sweet green note, and the leaves are usually a touch firmer. It is a genuine flavour difference, not just colour.

Will the colour bleed?
Yes, into anything acidic or wet - vinegar, lemon, a pale dressing will all pick up a rosy tint. In pesto it turns the whole batch a muddy purple-brown. That is cosmetic, not spoilage, but it is worth knowing before you commit a batch.

When do I add it?
At the very end, off the heat, or raw. Basil's aroma is almost entirely volatile and a few minutes of hard heat takes it.