[Market-farming] Basil
Leigh Mae Friedline
darlinghillcommunityfarm at myfairpoint.net
Tue Jul 21 10:09:22 EDT 2009
I pinch stem ends (2-3 short nodes) when I harvest basil. I always
harvest when the plant is completely dry and pick directly into a
large plastic bag to conserve humidity. I prepare a sink of tepid
(think dissolving bread yeast), never cool or cold, water and wash
the basil thoroughly and quickly in this water. I don't let the
basil soak too long. I then dry the basil in a spinner and bag in
amounts no larger than 0.5lbs., always keeping the bags closed and
storing them at room temp. out of direct sunlight. Larger weight
bags have less of a shelf life than low weight bags. If the humidity
is high, spinning will not completely dry the leaves to the degree
that I want so sometimes I put a piece of a paper towel on the inside
of the bag so it is not seen from its presentation side.
I am able to have saleable basil for 7-10 days after harvest. This
method also makes a product that pesto makers do not have to de-stem,
because the stem length is usually under 0.5" and is very tender:
ready to process.
Leigh Mae
Darling Hill Community Farm
Southern NH, Zone 6
(please note that the sender's address is now
darlinghillcommunityfarm at myfairpoint.net)
On Jul 21, 2009, at 9:10 AM, Andy Fellenz wrote:
> Hi,
>
> We have never had any luck storing it for any length of time,
> instead we
> would just cut what we could sell in a day or two. For farmers
> markets
> and on our roadside stand after cutting it we would place the stems in
> water. Doing this it usually looked OK for a day or two.
>
> I also did this for someone who was reselling to restaurants. I would
> make up herb buckets for him with several varieties of basil,
> marjoram,
> parsley and other longer stemmed herbs and he would sell the bucket
> to a
> higher end restaurant.
>
> Andy
>
> Tom at Limerock wrote:
>> Hi.
>>
>> We are growing basil for our on-farm market and having trouble
>> with it
>> holding up.
>>
>> How do y'all store and package basil without it getting dark green/
>> brown
>> (from too cold of temps I think) and how do you package it to keep
>> it form
>> wilting and/or getting slimy?
>>
>> I have tried it in loose in large bags, and loose in peck boxes,
>> kept in the
>> walk-in and it gets dark green/brown.
>>
>> On the counter, it is tightly packed in zip bags which are left
>> partially
>> open to breathe and it creates moisture.
>>
>> Any and all thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Tom
>> Limerock Orchards and Roadside Market
>> Near Lake Erie
>> (needing rain badly)
>>
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>>
>>
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