On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 771

in Liguria and Provence, inventors of the popular basil purees called pesto and pistou, and was hardly known in the United States until the 1970s The standard “sweet basil” of Europe and North America, Ocimum basilicum, is among the more virtuosic of the herbs, and has been developed into several different flavor varieties, including lemon, lime, cinnamon, anise, and camphor Most varieties of sweet basil are dominated by flowery and tarragon notes, though the variety used in Genoa to make the classic sauce pesto genovese is apparently dominated by mildly spicy methyleugenol and clove-like eugenol, with no tarragon aroma at all Thai basil (O basilicum and tenuiflorum) tends toward the anise-like and camphoraceous; Indian holy basil (O tenuiflorum) is dominated by eugenol The flavor of basil depends not only on the variety, but on growing conditions and the stage at which it is harvested Generally, aroma compounds make up a larger proportion of young sweet basil leaves than old, by as much as five times In leaves that are still growing, the relative proportions of the different compounds actually vary along the length of the leaf, with the older tip richer in tarragon and clove notes, the younger base in eucalyptus and floral notes Bergamot This herb, also known as bee balm and Oswego tea, comes from a North American member of the mint family, Monarda didyma, whose aroma is somewhat lemony The same name is given to a member of the citrus family whose essential oil is rich in flowery linalyl acetate, and which is the distinctive addition to Earl Grey tea (Confusingly, European watermint [p 404] is also sometimes called bergamot.) Horehound Horehound, so called for its hairy white (hoary) leaves, is a Eurasian species, Marrubium vulgare, with a musky and bitter ... proportion of young sweet basil leaves than old, by as much as five times In leaves that are still growing, the relative proportions of the different compounds actually vary along the length of the leaf, with the older tip richer... member of the mint family, Monarda didyma, whose aroma is somewhat lemony The same name is given to a member of the citrus family whose essential oil is rich in flowery linalyl acetate, and which... the length of the leaf, with the older tip richer in tarragon and clove notes, the younger base in eucalyptus and floral notes Bergamot This herb, also known as bee balm and Oswego tea, comes from