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Old February 6, 2006   #1
travis
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Default Boycott ... BAN ... Blue Spice Basil

Blue Spice Basil, a hybrid, is the absolute worst basil I have ever grown.

It is a very healthy cultivar and actually very appealing visually with medium/light green foliage and fuzzy wuzzy stems. It'll grow in pots or in the ground about equally as well and is not one of those that tries to crowd out its neighbors ... just enjoys its own space. It's basically bug-proof here.

But the aroma from the fresh plant is nauseating and the taste is beyond funky. The only thing I could think to do with it was dry it out and use it for making the garage smell better as the dried stuff didn't have that nauseating stink.

Anyone else had a better experience?

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Old February 6, 2006   #2
nctomatoman
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Wondering if it is the same as African Blue basil - a sterile hybrid that is available from cuttings only. It is a beautiful plant, but not at all edible!
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Old February 6, 2006   #3
travis
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Craig,

It's said to be a cross between a purple basil and lemon basil. At home I have a herb catalog that gives the latin names of the two suspects, but as usual, the catalog I need is not where I am.

Anyway, it doesn't look like either purple or lemon basil to me. It is not at all purple except its blossoms are a bit lavendar or blue. And I can't figure where the fuzziness comes from.

It's edible ... if you can stomach the sickenly sweet funky taste. I think maybe it could be used with other Asian spices and herbs for something to put on fruit like melons maybe. It's definitely an Asian taste profile gone crazy.

But straight up it's just too much ... kinda like eating cilantro leaves straight ... just too overpowering and funky.

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Old February 23, 2007   #4
johno
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I got some African Blue basil from a cutting. Seems like I heard it was a hybrid of Camphor basil and some other type... I don't know. It sounds like what you are describing, but I like eating it and making tea with it.
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