an aromatic herb in the genus Ocimum of which there are several species and numerous horticultural varieties.
The best known to cooks is Ocimum basilicum, native to India, SE Asia, and NE Africa, and very commonly used in the Mediterranean countries. This is an annual plant, typically reaching a height of 60 cm (2′). O. basilicum var minimum is a small-leafed species, the most perfumed of all, called Nano verde (green dwarf) by seedsmen in Italy. O. basilicum var citriodorum is a lemon-scented basil; and O. basilicum var purpurascens is purple leafed. These varieties are sometimes listed as cultivars. Another variety of importance to Thai cooking and sold widely in the USA and Australia as ‘Thai basil’ is also called Liquorice basil and in Thailand bai horapa.
Other species are as follows:
The early reputation of basil in Europe was characterized by a remarkable capacity to inspire approval or denigration. Referring to the polemic it aroused in classical writings, Culpeper (1653) records it as ‘the herb which all authors are together by the ears about’. The potency of its associations goes some way towards explaining the suspicion with which it was sometimes regarded. These tend to be erotic or funerary and often are both: the fusion of meanings can be seen in the story by Boccaccio which later inspired Keats's poem Isabella. In addition to this, a widespread belief that basil bred scorpions is reiterated in the old herbals.
Basil reached England from S. Europe in the 16th and N. America, up to parts of New England, in the 17th century. Since all basils, to a greater or lesser degree, are plants of warm climates, none grows freely in more northerly regions.
In the cuisines of S. and W. Europe, and their descendants in the New World, especially in the W. Indies, basil is known particularly for its affinity with the tomato, but goes well with many other partners. It is an essential ingredient of the Italian pesto, but has many other uses.
Dried basil loses its fragrance. The herb can be preserved for a while in olive oil or honey. However, Alicia Rios (personal communication) keeps basil by layering in salt in a sealed jar, the purpose being to get a basil-perfumed salt as a base for flavouring soups and sauces rather than as a means of preserving the basil.
In Asia, the use of basil is uneven. It is a very popular herb in Iran and even has to be imported. In contrast, Julie Sahni (1980) writes:
Because of the sacred association of basil with the Hindu God Vishnu, the use of this herb in Indian cooking has been severely limited. However, in many Indian homes a delicious brew of basil leaves, shredded ginger, and honey, known as ‘Tulsi ki Chah’, is served during the winter.
Among Buddhist and Muslim peoples this special consideration does not apply, and basil of various species is freely used in most countries of SE Asia. In Thailand, ‘holy basil’ leaves are used fresh or dried in curries along with chillies to produce a characteristic hot and aromatic flavour. Lemon basil is added to vegetable curries and in Indonesia it is added to fish curries. Basil seeds swell to form a mucilaginous gel when soaked in water or other liquid. They make a sherbet drink in this manner in the Near East, Iran, and Afghanistan, and in Indonesia they are soaked in coconut milk and sugar to produce a drink called indring. In Thailand, they appear in a delicious dessert, Mang nak lam ka-ti, giving the effect of tiny black jelly-baby fish afloat in a caviar-studded sea of milk, what looks like caviar being sweet basil seeds.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Culpeper, Nicholas (1653), The English Physician, London.
Sahni, Julie (1980), Classic Indian Cooking, New York: William Morrow.
