Most people with herbaceous plant gardens hasten to prune off St. Basil flowers when they appear , because St. Basil peak mean that the basil ( Ocimumspp . ) will start up put all its energy into unfolding and reproducing rather than continuing to farm those sexually attractive , redolent leaf .
However , if your end is to keep the basil flowers and dry them for succeeding use — whether culinary or medicative — you’ll want to harvest the flower at their peak and dry them in such a way that they can be carry on for as long as potential .
Warning
Once the basil blossom , its leaf become bitter and mislay some of their pungent basil odor . If you also want to enjoy basil leaves , harvest them when their leaf growth is still participating and before the flowers appear .
Any commonvariety of basillends itself to dry out , particularly cherubic basil ( Ocimum basilicum ) and the seraphic St. Basil the Great assortment Thai St. Basil ( Ocimum basilicumvar.thyrsiflora ) .
Harvesting Basil Flowers for Drying
When harvesting overbold basil flowers to preserve them as dry flowers , wait for a sunny good afternoon when the plant and efflorescence are teetotal and contain no moisture . Harvest the bloom bud during the growing time of year before the flush are in full open , because they will proceed to mature after cutting .
Air - dry flowers requires enough root word to hang them , so hold at least 4 to 6 inches of base beneath the flowerheads . Remove the foliation from the shank so the stem is stripped .
If you are prepared to dry out the blossom forthwith , there is no need to put the stems in water first . If you need to hold off , however , immediately place the stems in water to keep the flowers from wilt . Basil flush are delicate and a flake wispy , so they wilt like a shot after harvest home .
Drying Basil Flowers
While there are multiple method acting for drying flowers , air drying is the simplest . This method work for flowers such as basil that naturally have a low wet content .
Tip
Air drying can take four to six weeks , depending on the moisture in the plant itself as well as the humidness of the room in which the dry take place .
Gather the basil bloom stems into bunches of perhaps 10 to 20 stem , and tie them together with twine or use flexible bands or machine association . Hang the bunches upside down on a clothesline , dry out stand or nails in a dry location . An unwarmed garage is hunky-dory , although outdoors works well if the conditions is ardent and dry .
Storing Dried Basil Flowers
After the basil flowers are in full wry , store them in an air - tight container such as a glass jar or plastic container with a tight - meet lid .
How to Use Dried Basil Flowers
Basil flowers , once dried , can be used in a multitude of way .
Culinary Uses for Basil Plant Flowers
A popular manner to apply dry out basil flowers is to infuse acetum with St. Basil the Great spirit to make basil flower acetum , which contribute a somewhat peppery flavor to the vinegar and is an effective summation to salad dressings or marinades .
you could also disperse dry basil flowers as a garnish on salads or rice or make herbal basil Camellia sinensis .
Medicinal Uses for Basil Plant Flowers
Some miscellanea of sweet basil have properties that are well - suited for medicinal usance , in particular , holy basil ( Ocimum tenuiflorum ) , also calledtulsi . Holy basil is widely used in Hinduism , where the name " tulsi " originated as a materialisation of the goddess Lakshmi ( Tulasi ) .
Many people use holy basil to deal problems consort with bronchitis , indigestion , stomach ulcer , insect bites and other illness .
