Basil
 

hello

I have picked about 15 lbs of basilleaves, have about ten or more to go.
then repeat process as it grows like mad.

is there a recipe for canning pesto or a way to can basil leaves to use in
the winter,

if you are in the san antonio area, I would be up for a trade of basil for ?
what have you

thanks

Basil
 

mobile wrote:
> hello
>
> I have picked about 15 lbs of basilleaves, have about ten or more to go.
> then repeat process as it grows like mad.
>
> is there a recipe for canning pesto or a way to can basil leaves to use in
> the winter,
>
> if you are in the san antonio area, I would be up for a trade of basil for ?
> what have you
>
> thanks
>
>
Most home preservers don't have the equipment to can basil, don't see it
for sale in stores canned either. Suspect the heat of canning would
degrade the texture and flavor.

I grow basil myself but I freeze it as pesto. Any good pesto recipe will
do the trick. I then freeze it solid enough it won't move on a bun pan
then put it in vacuum bags and seal them. I suspect you could do the
same and put it in plastic freezer bags either in single servings or
multiple servings. Hope this helps.

George

Basil
 

thanks George,

yes I freeze now, but I was looking for something to store besides freezer,
(I have a small freezer)
I freeze in ice cube trays and then bag up and use as needed.
"George Shirley" > wrote in message
...
> mobile wrote:
>> hello
>>
>> I have picked about 15 lbs of basilleaves, have about ten or more to go.
>> then repeat process as it grows like mad.
>>
>> is there a recipe for canning pesto or a way to can basil leaves to use
>> in the winter,
>>
>> if you are in the san antonio area, I would be up for a trade of basil
>> for ? what have you
>>
>> thanks
> Most home preservers don't have the equipment to can basil, don't see it
> for sale in stores canned either. Suspect the heat of canning would
> degrade the texture and flavor.
>
> I grow basil myself but I freeze it as pesto. Any good pesto recipe will
> do the trick. I then freeze it solid enough it won't move on a bun pan
> then put it in vacuum bags and seal them. I suspect you could do the same
> and put it in plastic freezer bags either in single servings or multiple
> servings. Hope this helps.
>
> George
>

Basil
 

"mobile" > wrote in message
et...
> hello
>
> I have picked about 15 lbs of basilleaves, have about ten or more to go.
> then repeat process as it grows like mad.
>
> is there a recipe for canning pesto or a way to can basil leaves to use
> in the winter,
>
> if you are in the san antonio area, I would be up for a trade of basil for
> ? what have you
>
> thanks
I've tasted quite a few jarred commercial pesto, and pesto in tubes, etc.
They were all nasty. Frozen is the only way for me. And drying, of course.
I'm ready to dry another batch today myself. It's so humid here, up around
45% in the afternoon, that nothing I'm drying is getting crispy dried. It's
all kinda wilty.
Edrena

Basil
 

In article >,
"mobile" > wrote:

> hello
>
> I have picked about 15 lbs of basilleaves, have about ten or more to go.
> then repeat process as it grows like mad.
>
> is there a recipe for canning pesto or a way to can basil leaves to use in
> the winter,
>
> if you are in the san antonio area, I would be up for a trade of basil for ?
> what have you
>
> thanks

In a word, no.

You can chop the basil and freeze it in water in ice cube trays.

You can go most of the way to making pesto and freeze it in ice cube
trays or in baggies.

You can dehydrate it.

A Google groups search of r.f.p. should turn up lots of past discussion
about this.

Uh, how much of the stuff did you plant? Two plants growing well are
more than enough for my needs for a year. The stuff doesn't weigh much.
By volume, you've got a boatload. Maybe you should open a sidewalk
stand. . . .
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007

Basil
 

On Jul 25, 5:56 pm, "The Joneses" > wrote:
> "mobile" > wrote in message
>
> et...> hello
>
> > I have picked about 15 lbs of basilleaves, have about ten or more to go.
> > then repeat process as it grows like mad.
>
> > is there a recipe for canning pesto or a way to can basil leaves to use
> > in the winter,
>
> > if you are in the san antonio area, I would be up for a trade of basil for
> > ? what have you
>
> > thanks
>
> I've tasted quite a few jarred commercial pesto, and pesto in tubes, etc.
> They were all nasty. Frozen is the only way for me. And drying, of course.
> I'm ready to dry another batch today myself. It's so humid here, up around
> 45% in the afternoon, that nothing I'm drying is getting crispy dried. It's
> all kinda wilty.
> Edrena

The damp humid weather here in central NY doesn't allow for a good
air drying either. What I did to help was to make a hotbox for air
drying. I use solar radient heat, and that creats a hot air flow into
the storage area. On a good sunny day the box can warm up to 130-140F,
so I built in a screened window with a shutter attached to an old
thermistat that will open and close the shutter when the temp. gets to
hot.
This setup really works great for basel, oregano ect, and also
works on thicker leaf plants like sage, tameriac, thyme, and rosemary.

Basil
 

big garden, plenty of room, so I planted a few plants that developed into a
few more, like 20 around my tomato plants. they are supposed to grow good in
combo together. something about companion planting
I would have a market for it, in a big city, San Antonio is too mono
cultured. Not enough diversity to support a sidewalk stand for this item.


"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "mobile" > wrote:
>
>> hello
>>
>> I have picked about 15 lbs of basilleaves, have about ten or more to go.
>> then repeat process as it grows like mad.
>>
>> is there a recipe for canning pesto or a way to can basil leaves to use
>> in
>> the winter,
>>
>> if you are in the san antonio area, I would be up for a trade of basil
>> for ?
>> what have you
>>
>> thanks
>
> In a word, no.
>
> You can chop the basil and freeze it in water in ice cube trays.
>
> You can go most of the way to making pesto and freeze it in ice cube
> trays or in baggies.
>
> You can dehydrate it.
>
> A Google groups search of r.f.p. should turn up lots of past discussion
> about this.
>
> Uh, how much of the stuff did you plant? Two plants growing well are
> more than enough for my needs for a year. The stuff doesn't weigh much.
> By volume, you've got a boatload. Maybe you should open a sidewalk
> stand. . . .
> --
> -Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
> http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
> pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007

Basil
 

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article >,
> "mobile" > wrote:
>
>> hello
>>
>> I have picked about 15 lbs of basilleaves, have about ten or more to go.
>> then repeat process as it grows like mad.
>>

>
> Uh, how much of the stuff did you plant? Two plants growing well are
> more than enough for my needs for a year. The stuff doesn't weigh much.
> By volume, you've got a boatload. Maybe you should open a sidewalk
> stand. . . .


Hmmmm. Do you have a nearby Italian grocery store? I bet they'd buy it
from you if you tied it with string or thread into small, equal-sized
bundles.

gloria p

Basil
 

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> You can go most of the way to making pesto and freeze it in ice cube
> trays or in baggies.

I go all the way (hush, you) and it turns out fine. I know one is
not *supposed* to add the cheese before freezing, but it works just
dandy for us.

Serene

--
Spin the auto-sig generator, and she says:

"The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it."
-- John Gilmore, EFF

Basil
 

On Aug 5, 12:26 am, Serene > wrote:
> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> > You can go most of the way to making pesto and freeze it in ice cube
> > trays or in baggies.
>
> I go all the way (hush, you) and it turns out fine. I know one is
> not *supposed* to add the cheese before freezing, but it works just
> dandy for us.
>
> Serene
>
> --
> Spin the auto-sig generator, and she says:
>
> "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it."
> -- John Gilmore, EFF

Sounds like me. heehee I think we just use it so fast there isn't
time for it to go bad.

Vicky

Basil
 

Serene wrote:
> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
>> You can go most of the way to making pesto and freeze it in ice cube
>> trays or in baggies.
>
>
> I go all the way (hush, you) and it turns out fine. I know one is not
> *supposed* to add the cheese before freezing, but it works just dandy
> for us.
>
> Serene
>
I do the same thing Serene and it works fine for us too. I only use
parmesan cheese in mine though.

George

Basil
 

George Shirley wrote:
> Serene wrote:
>> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>>
>>> You can go most of the way to making pesto and freeze it in ice cube
>>> trays or in baggies.
>>
>>
>> I go all the way (hush, you) and it turns out fine. I know one is not
>> *supposed* to add the cheese before freezing, but it works just dandy
>> for us.
>>
>> Serene
>>
> I do the same thing Serene and it works fine for us too. I only use
> parmesan cheese in mine though.

Same here. I'm a tiny bit of a purist -- pesto done other ways is
fine, but really, it doesn't feel "right" to me if it's not pine
nuts, basil, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.

Serene, who bought a funnel and a magnetic lid grabber thingy and a
jar lifter today. Next step is to see if the big stockpot my wife
used to make soap in will make an okay canner, and if not, find a
pot that will.

--
Spin the auto-sig generator, and she says:

"Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about
saying NO to all but the most crucial features." -- Steve Jobs

Basil
 

the only variation in my pesto is that I have lots of pecans, so instead of
pine nuts, I use roasted pecans.

I try to use what I have on hand. grown,picked, and what have you.


"Serene" > wrote in message
...
> George Shirley wrote:
>> Serene wrote:
>>> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>>>
>>>> You can go most of the way to making pesto and freeze it in ice cube
>>>> trays or in baggies.
>>>
>>>
>>> I go all the way (hush, you) and it turns out fine. I know one is not
>>> *supposed* to add the cheese before freezing, but it works just dandy
>>> for us.
>>>
>>> Serene
>>>
>> I do the same thing Serene and it works fine for us too. I only use
>> parmesan cheese in mine though.
>
> Same here. I'm a tiny bit of a purist -- pesto done other ways is fine,
> but really, it doesn't feel "right" to me if it's not pine nuts, basil,
> garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.
>
> Serene, who bought a funnel and a magnetic lid grabber thingy and a jar
> lifter today. Next step is to see if the big stockpot my wife used to
> make soap in will make an okay canner, and if not, find a pot that will.
>
> --
> Spin the auto-sig generator, and she says:
>
> "Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about
> saying NO to all but the most crucial features." -- Steve Jobs