Written by: Dr. Frannie Koe, MD
Photographed by: Breanne Brazeale
What is the difference between basil and Holy Basil? Both are herbs from the Lamiaceae family. Common or italian basil, scientific name Ocimum basilicum, is a culinary herb frequently used in Italian cooking. It is also a tender annual plant and is very easy to grow in the southeast because it loves warm weather. In fact, it is extremely frost-tender and thrives in hot, humid southern summers.
Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is sweeter, often found in medicinal applications, and used to make a delicious tea called Tulsi tea. It is an aromatic perennial shrub, is native to India, and grows widely through Southeast Asia, although it can be cultivated here as well.
There are different varieties of both types of basil, for example purple basil. While both plants are in the same family, in the US, people are most familiar with common basil (Ocimum basilicum) and often use it in pesto, spaghetti or other dishes. On my farm, we often dry it. We have a lot of basil at the end of the summer and also love to make pesto with it. We freeze extra pesto so that we can enjoy it all winter. Pesto is a wonderful topping for miracle noodles which are both a low carb and a delicious way to enjoy pesto.
Holy basil gets its name from its medicinal, religious and cultural uses in India. It is considered a sacred plant there and is frequently planted around shrines. You can find more information about Ocimum tenuiflorum, or holy basil, in the drink section as well as in the herbal medicine section of our page.
Below, please find a recipe for classic Basil Pesto.
Pesto:
Tim, the chef in our house, does not really measure. But a basic recipe that we follow approximately is:
A few sprigs of fresh basil – do not wash
1/4 c of nuts – pine nuts are expensive and harder to get, we usually use walnuts
1/2 c of Parmesan cheese– we usually buy a block but you can use the shredded cheese
2 cloves of fresh garlic – not the smallest ones
Salt and extra virgin olive oil– Tim does not measure, but use enough oil to wet the mixture, and salt to taste.
Mix basil, nuts, garlic in a mini food processor. The add in cheese and salt. Finally, mix in olive oil. We leave out the cheese when we freeze our mixture and add the cheese after thawing it out. We use small cups with great non-leak lids from the clinic that we freeze our mixture in, but any airtight, freezer-safe container, will work.
If you’d like to try low-carb miracle noodles to top with pesto, you can find them here: