Howdy folks,
The basils are haunting me.
I will double check with the gardener, whether we are talking Thai
Basil or African Blue. I let him edit the article but we could have
missed that. The head chef in our household uses the milder 'sweet'
Basil's to use raw in salads and anything else she can hide raw Basil
in, but likes the stronger,more pungent Basils like Spicy Globe and
the purpleflowering types for cooking because they hold their flavor
when cooked.

I'm sure someone will beat me to this but Thai basil in Thailand is
called 'Hora-pa'' but be careful not to confuse it, as often happens
with 'Gra-pow' according to www.learnthaicooking.com. So I'll be
especially careful in that regards. Close inspection will reveal tiny
hairs on the stem that distinuqishes it as "Gra-pow" as opposed to
hairless 'Hora-pa"
Now that I'm clear on that, I checked the sites on African Blue Basil
and the best description I found of it, was on :
http://www.sycamorefarms.com/2001BountifulBasil.html
which described opinions of it's taste as ranging from turpentine to
'strong'
If anyone out there knows the history of the plant travels, where it
was native, when it was introduced I would love to hear it. I always
enjoy thatst stuff.
There seems to be an inedible ( not poisonious just bad tasting )
Basil called 'Camphor Basil" which I guess explains why I've never
seen it for sale.

What I've noticed is how often sone 'Sweet Basils" end up tasting like
licorice. I've even noticed sometimes batches of sweet Basil pick up
that taste which I don't know is the result of cross pollination of
the breeding line, or a reaction within the plant to environmental
stresses.

Speaking of Basil's for a couple of winters here in Austin, I used
those "Water Walls" that are marketed for tomatoes but useless since
they are so small to keep Basil growing in a ten gallon pot outside
all winter long. During ther periodic freezes I placed a dish on the
top opening for added protection, and they survived temps into the
upper twenties.

take care,
Steve Coyle