Basil, the King of Herbs

This is what I call summer.Whenever I smell it I think about the sun and the sea of a mediterranean island.

The word basil comes from the Greek βασιλεύς (basileus), meaning “king”, as it has come to be associated with the Feast of the Cross commemorating the finding of the True Cross by St Helena mother of the emperor St. Constantine.Alternatively the herbalist John Gerard noted of basil that those stung by scorpions would feel no pain if they ate of basil. Nicholas Culpeper notes of basil that it is “an herb of Mars and under the Scorpion, and therefore called Basilicon”,relating it to basilisk. The Oxford English Dictionary quotes speculations that basil may have been used in “some royal unguent, bath, or medicine”. Basil is still considered the “king of herbs” by many cookery author.

Use it, eat it,smell it…you will never be disappointed!