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Type of basil in pesto?

15 years ago

I have a big sweet basil plant and to pretty small genovese basil plants. I was wondering which variety would be the best in pesto. I have never eaten pesto so I dont know what is usually used. What are some good things to use sweet basil in? It seems really potent so I'm not sure about it.

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Comments (7)

letranger
15 years ago
I was just reading a magazine and it mentioned that genovese basil is pretty much the best in cooking, but sweet basil is the most common.

Have fun making pesto!!! I'm going to try my hands on it too once I have the heart to clip my basil =)
tn_veggie_gardner
15 years ago
I used sweet basil when I made my pesto with it last week (posted about it on here). A little olive oil, some garlic, some fresh peppercorns, ground nuts & one or two other items. It was awesome too! I Googled & found a recipe for it. As long as you have a food processor, it's very easy to make too.
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I grew this plant two years ago - but it was under a different name and I bought it somewhere else. Very nice shape and worked well in a container. I wasn't as good at rooting cuttings and overwintering back then so I lost all of mine but I plan on growing it again. There is another cultivar claiming to not bloom til way late in the season, I don't remember what it was called, but it had small narrow leaves and mine bloomed right on schedule with all the other basils. There is also another variegated basil of the blue/african type. Flavor is more camphor-ish but the plant is very robust and attractive in the flower bed. Bring on the variegated herbs!
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No, the new type should be available at your nursery in seedling form. A good nursery will have some with a nice head-start that are 4-6" tall already. Mine are currently "in bondage", I have small string around the top (two inches or so down) from the main stem to separate the stalks (usually three per plant) to encourage more growth and let the light in....pulled down, secured with tape to the side of the container and growing slightly at a slant. And old trick I learned when growing other things "not so legal". (I was very young then.) I'll post a picture of one of them in bondage. LOL! I remember reading when researching Perpetuo that you can take cuttings from it and grow it. But since there's a patent on it, growing more plants from cuttings and selling them is not legal. Growing more for yourself, perfectly fine. And I "suppose" gifting for friends would be OK. As long as it's not for profit, who's to know? Except the internet Pesto Perpetuo police who are reading this post.
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How many basils for pesto?
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Pastic shaker cheese?? UGH!! You might as well put sawdust in that shaker!! If you want a GOOD cheese, it MUST be fresh grated. The BEST tasting parmesian is Parmesano Reggiano. Its very expensive (about $10.00 a pound at the wholesale clubs), but you would never go back to that canned stuff again. If you like the more smelly cheese, try a Romano, or Asuagio (sp.) These are considered sharp and the latter is a great table cheese too. I tried a zillion cheeses and would never buy or use a cheese in a can..Cheese doesn't have to be salty to be good. Except a feta, which is smelly and salty..
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any basil for pesto?
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I had a customer tell me that they made pesto from 'Mrs Burns Lemon' basil (a much better cultivar than regular lemon basil IMO) and it was the best she ever had. I made some and it was very good, albeit a bit untraditional. It would be great over chicken or fish. Lime basil is similar to lemon and would probably be just as good. I would guess that purple basil, although it may taste just fine, may have a color to it that would be a bit unappetizing, especially if your aesthetics are so delicate! :) I have also had people tell me that they like pesto from other types of basil that I wouldn't even think of using-like African Blue Basil-a very camphorous type. The lady who recommended the lemon basil says she makes separate batches of different flavored basils and freezes each one in ice cube trays. She adds different types together at different ratios when she is ready to make a batch to eat. Bottom line, try a small batch of each to see what you like or don't like. F. DeBaggio
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maggiejk
15 years ago
The general advice that one reads is that 'Geneovese' basil and its "improved" variants are generally recommended as being the most flavorful for making pesto. However, I have been growing 'Sweet' basil and making pesto with it successfully for years, bfore I started growing and using the 'Genovese' and it's strain, the 'Perfume' basil for pesto. So either one--'Sweet' or 'Geneovese' can be used for making pesto or even mix the 2 kinds together.
nygardener
15 years ago
Mixing is fine. Throw in a little good Italian (flat-leaved) parsley if you can find some. Add a little Thai basil, which has a slight anise flavor, for variety.
drm180
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, it turns out that i will only be able to use Genovese for my pesto. While I was away for the week-end, the japaneese beetle completly destroyed my sweet basil but had barely touched my genovese. To get fresh herbs around where I live you have to grow it yourself. The Wal-mart in the next town over carries curly parsley and cilantro, which is hardly ever in stock anyway. I do have a lot of flat leaf parsley though so I will try that. Thanks everyone.
highalttransplant
15 years ago
I just saw a basil plant at my local nursery, called 'Pesto Perpetuo', which is a beautiful variegated basil that is supposed to be excellent for pesto. Anyone tried this one?

Bonnie

Here is a link that might be useful: Basil 'Pesto Perpetuo'
maggiejk
15 years ago
My 'Pesto Perpetuo' is just too pretty to cut--yet. I may just before the frost will get it, but I don't think that it will taste any different from my Greek columnar 'Lesbos' basil as it's just a prettier variegated form of it and more expensive too.

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