herb profile Archives | sweet miscellany

A homemade tulsi basil syrup is mixed with sparkling water for a refreshing and summery soda. You can use this vegan and gluten free syrup to sweeten teas and pancakes or to make other mocktails and cocktails!

Despite drinking tulsi tea for several years, this spring was the first time I attempted to grow it. Now that’s its been a part of my plant collection for several months, it’s hard to fathom my garden without its unique scent that hits the nose upon the slightest tousle of the leaves! The scent is hard to explain other than saying it is incredibly lovely and complex. It has hints of mint, licorice, and cloves along with a distinct fruitiness. Aside from smelling and looking beautiful, tulsi has been one of the few plants in my garden to endure and thrive in the summer heat.

Growing Tulsi Basil in the Garden

Tulsi is fairly easy to grow from seed or transplants. Once established, it is moderately drought tolerant and will survive and thrive through the heat of the summer. I have some planted in the sun as well as the shade and it grows well in both locations. In the sun it will flower significantly quicker than in the shade. Just like most varieties of basil, tulsi is sensitive to the cold weather. Make sure to harvest before any cold snaps or freezes. If you allow tulsi to flower, it will attract plenty of beautiful pollinators, particularly bees. It makes a good companion plant for any vegetables you are growing that need pollinating such as members of the nightshade family or squashes.

Herb Profile: Tulsi Basil (Ocimum sanctum, O. tenuiflorum, O. gratissimum)

A member of the mint family, tulsi basil (also called holy basil) is native to South Asia. The species name sanctum refers to the sacred nature of the plant. In Indian culture it is considered sacred to the Hindu god Vishnu who considers the herb to be an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi. There are a few different types of tulsi basil though the most common in the United States (and what I grow at home) is Ocimum sanctum. Tulsi has been widely used in Ayurvedic medicine as a “rasayana herb” or one that nourishes a person to perfect health and promotes a long life.

Energetically tulsi can be slightly warming or cooling and has a pungent taste. In Western herbalism, it has a wide variety of uses though its most popular application is as an adaptogen. Adaptogens work by helping the body respond to stressors in a measured way which in turn provides balance by reducing the negative affects stress has on the physical and emotional body.

How I Use Tulsi Basil

In my kitchen, tulsi gets the most use as a digestive aid and a nervous system supporter. The most common way I use it is in tea (either fresh or dried) though I frequently use it in a culinary sense in much the same way as sweet basil. When using it as tea, I’ll brew a cup to enjoy after a particularly heavy meal, when my nerves are feeling a little frazzled, or just because. Lately, I’ve been making batches of tulsi syrup with the dried herb and enjoying it with sparkling water for a refreshing homemade soda! It’s super simple to make and has a lovely summery flavor.

Tulsi Basil Soda

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 1 cup syrup 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 1/4 cups filtered water
1/2 cup dried tulsi basil leaves
3/4 cup raw sugar
sparkling water for serving

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Instructions

Bring the water to a boil in a small pot. Once it comes to a boil, remove the pot from the heat, stir in the tulsi, then cover the pot and allow the tulsi to steep for 20-30 minutes. Strain the tulsi out then add the infusion back to the pot along with the sugar. Heat the pot over medium heat. Simmer the syrup until it thickens and reduces by about a third. You want to have about 1 cup total of syrup. Store the syrup in an airtight jar. It will keep for a couple of weeks at room temperature though you can keep it in the fridge if you like.

To make tulsi soda: simply add however much syrup you like to sparkling water. For the glass in the photos I used about 1 1/2 to 2 tsp syrup.

Notes

You can use the syrup to sweeten tea, or anything else that you can think of (overnight oats, pancakes, etc.). You can also easily make this into a cocktail by adding a spirit like gin or vodka and topping it off with a slice of citrus.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Category: drink

My garden is literally bursting at the seams right now. I just planted my tomatoes taking up the last remnants of free space yet I’ve got a few flats of germinating seeds that will need to go somewhere. Hmm. It’s definitely a good problem to have. I’d rather be drowning in a sea of green rather than staring at a barren patch of nothing.

While moving dexterously through my packed garden the other day, I had a thought to share a profile on every herb that I’m growing. And since my lemon balm was literally a monstrous bush at that time, while trimming it back another idea struck me: a general post about drying & storing herbs! So here we are. A little primer on how to harvest, dry, and store your own herbs as well as the first official herb profile on lemon balm. Grab a cup of tea, put on some comfy pants, and let’s get to it!

Harvesting, Drying, & Storing Leafy Herbs

The first time I took advantage of prolonging the life of my herbs by drying them was when I lived in East Texas and was preparing for the first freeze of the season. I had a small collection of culinary herbs on my balcony and knew that it would be easier for me to trim and dry them rather than try to keep them alive with my poor window light and frequent work travel. I did a little research (i.e. googling) and decided the best place to hang them up was my dark pantry. I was able to get a modest amount of mint, thyme, and citrus scented geranium that year. Every time I used them after that I remember feeling more grounded and connected to the earth.

Fast Forward many years and I’ve got about 20 different medicinal & culinary herbs & plants growing along with countless others that were planted from seed and are just germinating. So what do I do with all those plants? Some are experiments to see how well certain varietals do in our climate, some are for culinary uses, and others are for medicinal purposes. When my leafy herbs start to look a little unruly, I cut and harvest them for drying. Here’s how I do it:

+ Once an herb is established, I trim off up to 50% of the aerial parts (stems/leaves). Make sure to do this is in the morning before the plant has been exposed to direct/hot sun. When it comes to the trimming, it’s best to use a sharp knife/scissors so that you are able to make clean cuts without damaging the remaining plant.

+ When you’ve got all the cuttings you want, bring everything inside and give it a good rinse. Lay out a couple of clean towels, then arrange your herbs over them to air dry. At this point, remove any damaged or discolored leaves and discard them.

+ After the herbs have mostly dried off, gather 4 to 6 stems at a time (of the same type of herb) and tie them together with a piece of twine or yarn.

+ There are several options when it comes to hanging the herbs to dry. My current set up is two different lengths of yarn that are hung across the ceiling in my room. I’ll take a tied off bundle of herbs and using either a binder clip or clothespin, I’ll attach the stem end to the yarn. In the past with smaller amounts of herbs I’ve used a push pin to hang a couple of bundles on the wall as well as draped bundles over a hanger, then suspended the hanger from a door frame. Whatever works, right?

+ While I have herbs hanging I try to keep the ceiling fan on low in the room for the majority of the first week to help circulate air and aid in drying everything out. This is particularly important in humid climates. If you have a dehumidifier that will work perfectly, too.

+ Now we wait! Depending on the type of herb, the temperature, and the humidity levels in your house, it will take between 2 to 4 weeks to fully dry out leafy herbs. The herbs are ready when crunchy to the touch. You can always remove one leaf and test it for readiness by rubbing it between your palms. If it crumbles easily it’s ready!

+ Line your countertop with a clean kitchen towel (or paper towels, parchment paper, etc). Carefully remove all of the leaves from the stem making sure to crush the leaves as little as possible. Discard or compost the stems.

+ Store your dried herbs in sealed glass containers in a dark pantry or on a shelf that does not get direct sunlight. Make sure to label the contents along with the date they were bottled.

+ Note: When using dried herbs, it’s best to crush them up a bit first to break down the cell walls and help them release their oils.

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