Basil: one small plant, many uses

If you have experience with indoor vegetable gardening, or maybe even have your own PlantHome, chances are you own at least one basil plant. Basil is a popular herb in many kitchens and is especially widely used in pasta and caprese salad. Yet you are actually doing this plant a disservice if you only use it to occasionally to flavour a dish. Basil has many other uses that you may not have heard of! Below we have listed a number of useful uses of basil. This way you will never be left with too much fresh basil and you will take full advantage of all the good properties this plant has to offer.

Basil oil

You can easily make a tasty basil oil from your fresh basil that you can use to add some extra flavour to different dishes. Making basil oil is very simple: you just put a good amount of fresh basil leaves in a mixer and add a good amount of delicious olive oil. Mix to a smooth oil, possibly add some salt and pepper and your tasty seasoning is ready! You can certainly keep your homemade oil for a few months, so this is an ideal recipe to use the fresh basil that you can't finish yourself and still enjoy it for a long time!

Basil tea

You may never have thought of it, but fresh basil can make a healthy tea, just like fresh mint. You can make this by putting some fresh basil leaves in a glass and pour boiled water over it. Basil tea has several positive effects on your health. For example, it helps against bloating and because basil is rich in cleansing, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial substances, it has a cleansing effect on our respiratory tract. Especially when you suffer from a cold, drinking basil tea is recommended, because basil has a strong expectorant effect.

Basil in a face mask

If you like to try out new cosmetics, it is recommended to use basil in a homemade face mask. You can do this by mixing about ten leaves of fresh basil into a paste in a mixer. You can optionally add other products as desired, such as yogurt or clay. The active substances in basil protect the skin against the formation of wrinkles and age spots and due to the antibacterial effect, you can also use a facial mask with basil if you suffer from acne and skin infections.