Basil: traditional uses, how to prepare it, and what to watch for

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Basil is the fragrant summer herb almost everyone already has on a windowsill — and the one herbalists have always kept close to the kitchen. This page covers what the plant actually is, the uses tradition gives its leaves, how to make an everyday infusion or a gargle, how to keep the flavour through winter, and who should be careful with it.

A herb with a long paper trail

• Basil appears in the oldest European herbals, where it was classed among the warming, calming kitchen plants.
• Dioscorides wrote that it soothed the pain of scorpion stings — a historical note, not a recommendation.
• Arab tradition used a strong basil preparation as a mouthwash.
• Mediterranean cooking adopted it wholesale, and today its culinary use far outweighs any other.

What it is credited with

• Digestive comfort — herbalists traditionally recommend a basil leaf infusion after a heavy meal, for a heavy, bloated or gassy feeling.
• Cramping and spasm — basil has a long reputation in European herbalism as an antispasmodic plant, taken as a warm infusion when the stomach feels knotted.
• Queasiness — traditional use also includes sipping the infusion slowly when the stomach is unsettled.
• Winding down — naturopathy credits basil with a gently calming quality, and it is often suggested in the evening for restless, wound-up nights.
• Tension headaches — the herb has a folk reputation for easing the tight, nervous kind of headache, usually as an evening infusion.
• Mouth and throat — Arab tradition used a strong basil decoction as a gargle for a sore mouth; the practice survives in modern herbalism.
• A warming herb — old herbals list basil among the diaphoretic plants, taken hot to encourage a sweat when someone feels chilled.

How to use it

The everyday infusion

• Take a small handful of fresh leaves, or a heaped teaspoon of dried leaf, per cup.
• Pour water just off the boil over them, cover the cup — the aroma is volatile and escapes with the steam.
• Leave to steep 5 to 10 minutes, then strain.
• Traditionally drunk after meals, one cup, up to two or three cups across the day.
• Taste: sweet, warm and slightly peppery. A little honey or a slice of lemon suits it well.
• Keep it to a short course — a few days to a couple of weeks — rather than a permanent daily habit.

The gargle

• Use a generous large handful of leaves to a quart or litre of water.
• Simmer briefly, cover, let it stand until lukewarm, then strain well.
• Gargle or rinse the mouth, and spit it out. Make it fresh each day.

Straight from the plant

• Chewing a raw leaf or two is the simplest traditional form, and freshens the breath.
• Raw is where the flavour lives: salads, home-grown tomatoes, fish, pasta, sauces, omelette.
• Always add basil just before serving — heat strips most of its taste.
• Pistou is the classic keeper: crush the leaves with garlic and olive oil, in a mortar or a blender on low speed. The name comes from the old French pistant, to pound or crush.

Growing it for the leaves

• Basil wants rich, light, humus-rich, well-drained soil and a warm, sunny spot.
• It suffers below 50°F (10°C), so it is grown as a summer plant, in the ground or in pots.
• Keep the soil evenly moist, but water at the base: wet leaves rot.
• Go easy on nitrogen-rich fertiliser — it swells the leaves but thins the fragrance, which is the whole point here.
• Sow in early to mid-spring in a broad pan at 65 to 68°F (18 to 20°C), prick out into small pots at the two-leaf stage, and harden off under a cloche or tunnel.
• In early autumn, cutting the plant back by half gives it fresh energy for the end of the season.

Frequently Asked Questions

The one thing to remember: a covered cup of fresh basil leaf infusion after a heavy meal is the plant’s simplest and most traditional use.

Which part of the basil plant do I use?

The leaves and the young, soft stems. Older woody stems have little aroma and are best left on the plant. Pick little and often through summer, and always cover the cup when you infuse so the fragrance stays in the water rather than the air.

Fresh or dried basil for an infusion?

Fresh is better whenever you have it, because basil’s aroma sits in volatile oils that fade with drying. Dried leaf works if it is recent — within the year — and stored in a sealed jar away from light. Frozen leaves keep more character than dried ones.

Can I drink basil infusion every day?

Naturopathy treats basil as a short-course plant rather than an everyday standby: a few days to a couple of weeks, then a break. Culinary basil in your food is a different thing and needs no limit. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, giving it to a child, or on medication, ask a healthcare professional first.

What does basil taste like in a tea?

Warm and sweet, faintly peppery, with the clove and aniseed notes you smell in the fresh leaf. It is much gentler than it looks. A spoon of honey or a slice of lemon rounds it off nicely.

How do I keep my basil going for winter cooking?

Freeze stemmed leaves, or turn the harvest into pistou by crushing the leaves with garlic and olive oil in a mortar or a low-speed blender. Cooking basil destroys most of its savour, so pistou is the best way to carry the flavour forward. Cut the whole plant before the first cold nights rather than losing it.

This information is provided for general interest and reflects the traditional use of plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice. If you are on medication, pregnant, or in any doubt, ask a healthcare professional.