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
untilthe1970s.Thestandard“sweetbasil”of
Europe and North America,Ocimum
basilicum,isamongthemorevirtuosicofthe
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
floweryandtarragonnotes,thoughthevariety
usedinGenoatomaketheclassicsaucepesto
genovese is apparently dominated by mildly
spicy methyleugenol and clove-like eugenol,
with no tarragon aroma at all. Thai basil (O.
basilicum andtenuiflorum) tends toward the
anise-like and camphoraceous; Indian holy
basil (O. tenuiflorum) is dominated by
eugenol.
Theflavorofbasildependsnotonlyonthe
variety,butongrowingconditionsandthe
stageatwhichitisharvested.Generally,


aromacompoundsmakeupalarger
proportionofyoungsweetbasilleavesthan
old,byasmuchasfivetimes.Inleavesthat
arestillgrowing,therelativeproportionsof
thedifferentcompoundsactuallyvaryalong
thelengthoftheleaf,withtheoldertipricher
intarragonandclovenotes,theyoungerbase

ineucalyptusandfloralnotes.
BergamotThisherb,alsoknownasbeebalm
and Oswego tea, comes from a North
American member of the mint family,
Monarda didyma, whose aroma is somewhat
lemony.Thesamenameisgiventoamember
ofthecitrusfamilywhoseessentialoilisrich
in flowery linalyl acetate, and which is the
distinctive addition to Earl Grey tea.
(Confusingly,Europeanwatermint[p.404]is
alsosometimescalledbergamot.)Horehound
Horehound, so called for its hairy white
(hoary) leaves, is a Eurasian species,
Marrubium vulgare, with a musky and bitter