I have seen youtube videos and carefully followed the recipe of fresh
chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves. . I have made lots
of pizzas but never made one with a fresh herb. I topped the pizza with
virgin olive oil and that covered hit and miss the fresh basil leaves. So
what went wrong that the basil shrivilled up and became black? The basil
had no flavour except sort of an ash taste. The dough, tomatoes and cheese
were perfect.

"anonymous" > wrote in message
news:Jo2Nn.5444$Z6.1033@edtnps82...
>I have seen youtube videos and carefully followed the recipe of fresh
>chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves. . I have made lots
>of pizzas but never made one with a fresh herb. I topped the pizza with
>virgin olive oil and that covered hit and miss the fresh basil leaves. So
>what went wrong that the basil shrivilled up and became black? The basil
>had no flavour except sort of an ash taste. The dough, tomatoes and cheese
>were perfect.
>
>

How low in the oven did you bake the pizza? Did you use a stone? Was the
stone heated for 30 minutes first? I've had charring of herbs when baking
pizza. I think in dedicated pizza ovens the heat is so intense from the
stone it is cooked on that the toppings have no time to burn. Although I
have had "classic" pizza in Los Angeles and the toppings were sometimes very
burnt around the edges. But still really good.

Paul

"anonymous" > ha scritto nel messaggio
>I have seen youtube videos and carefully followed the recipe of fresh
>chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves. . I have made lots
>of pizzas but never made one with a fresh herb. I topped the pizza with
>virgin olive oil and that covered hit and miss the fresh basil leaves. So
>what went wrong that the basil shrivilled up and became black? The basil
>had no flavour except sort of an ash taste. The dough, tomatoes and cheese
>were perfect.

ALWAYS put the basil on just as the pizza leaves the oven. The heat will
pull out the flavor and perfume, and it will suit you perfectly. We in
Italy would also add raw olive oil at this point for its flavor.

On Jun 1, 2:11*am, "anonymous" > wrote:
> I have seen youtube videos and carefully followed the recipe of fresh
> chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves. *. *I have made lots
> of pizzas but never made one with a fresh herb. *I topped the pizza with
> virgin olive oil and that covered hit and miss the fresh basil leaves. *So
> what went wrong that the basil shrivilled up and became black? *The basil
> had no flavour except sort of an ash taste. *The dough, tomatoes and cheese
> were perfect.

Put the fresh basil UNDER the mozzarella and/or tomatoes.

John Kuthe...

John Kuthe wrote:

>> I have seen youtube videos and carefully followed the recipe of fresh
>> chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves. . I have made
>> lots of pizzas but never made one with a fresh herb. I topped the
>> pizza with virgin olive oil and that covered hit and miss the fresh
>> basil leaves. So what went wrong that the basil shrivilled up and
>> became black? The basil had no flavour except sort of an ash taste.
>> The dough, tomatoes and cheese were perfect.

> Put the fresh basil UNDER the mozzarella and/or tomatoes.

That would hide not only the basil, but its smell too. Then when eating the
basil-smell-less pizza one would bite into a whole leaf of basil... not
exactly what basil is meant to do on a pizza. Just put it as the pizza gets
out of the oven, nothing else.
--
Vilco
No, non mi sono mai allenato, respiravo di mio

anonymous wrote:
> I have seen youtube videos and carefully followed the recipe of fresh
> chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves. . I have made lots
> of pizzas but never made one with a fresh herb. I topped the pizza with
> virgin olive oil and that covered hit and miss the fresh basil leaves. So
> what went wrong that the basil shrivilled up and became black? The basil
> had no flavour except sort of an ash taste. The dough, tomatoes and cheese
> were perfect.
>
>

I always put the fresh basil on last, after the pizza cooks. The heat
from the pizza is enough to wilt it, and it doesn't get burnt.

Serene

--
"I tend to come down on the side of autonomy. Once people are grown up,
I believe they have the right to go to hell in the handbasket of their
choosing." -- Pat Kight, on alt.polyamory

Serene wrote on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:06:07 -0700:

> anonymous wrote:
>> I have seen youtube videos and carefully followed the recipe of fresh
>> chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil
>> leaves. . I have made lots of pizzas but never made one
>> with a fresh herb. I topped the pizza with virgin olive oil and that
>> covered hit and miss the fresh basil leaves. So
>> what went wrong that the basil shrivilled up and became
>> black? The basil had no flavour except sort of an ash taste.
>> The dough, tomatoes and cheese were perfect.
>>
> I always put the fresh basil on last, after the pizza cooks.
> The heat from the pizza is enough to wilt it, and it doesn't
> get burnt.

Sounds like a very good idea since I do like the taste of basil. The
most cooking I favor is when I put fresh leaves in a bowl of pho. Even
in some Thai dishes, if basil is cooked for a long time it's hard to
disnguish from spinach (which you can keep, IMHO.)

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Serene Vannoy wrote:
>
> I always put the fresh basil on last, after the pizza cooks. The heat
> from the pizza is enough to wilt it, and it doesn't get burnt.

I like to layer the crust on the bottom, then the "toppings" and finally
the cheese. That way the "toppings" don't get burnt. Basil can go
directly on the tomato based sauce to effect the flavor.

Green olives are really good on a pizza layered in that order. Green
olives put on top of the cheese tend to wilt and burn. I like black
olives. I like green olives more. ;^)