BASIL

Common name / BASIL
Scientific name / OCIMUM BASILICUM
Italian name / BASILICO

Characteristics

The basil belongs to the family of the Lamiacees. The leaves have an intense green color on the superior part and a green-grey color on the inferior part. The term "basil" derives from the Greek Basilikos that means "grass worthy of king". Cultivated in all the parts of the world, it is rich of volatile oils that vary in composition inside the same kind and in relationship to the conditions of growth. The most perfumed leaves, sweets and fragrant, are those that are picked up just before the flowering, since they contain a greater quantity of oily substances that determines the aroma of it, while the oldest leaves extend to have a spicier taste. The basil is a proper annual plant for moderate climates and doesn't bear the cold. It can reach a height of 30-40 centimeters. An interesting and curious characteristic is that the basil, if cultivated in an adverse environment, tends to lose its principal characteristics and it loses its characteristic sweet and delicate perfume.

Uses

The basil is certainly a characteristic ingredient of the kitchen of the countries of the Mediterranean. The most appetizing employment of the basil in the kitchen is that in the preparation of the “pesto alla Genovese”that, in various expressions, is typical of the whole ligure coast. The recipe of the “pesto”consists in using basil, garlic, salt, oil of olive, Sardinian pecorino or parmesan cheese, pinoli or peeled walnut-trees, all crushed in a mortar up to get a dense sauce. In Italy the “pesto” is used for seasoning the pasta. The aroma of the basil gets well the tomato, and with whatever base dish of tomato, with base dishes of eggs as the omelets or scrambled eggs, with the eggplants, the fish and so many other preparations.

The basil is not used only in culinary circle, but also in cosmetic, in erboristeria and in aromaterapia. In erboristeria it is used against the bad breath, the bad digestion, the cough, the meteorismo, the nervous cefalea and the cefalea from bad digestion. The infusion of the dried leaves is used in the feverish states, in the nausea and in the abdominal cramps. In cosmetic it is used as invigorating and deodorant: it is enough to put 15 leaves of basil in a cotton pouch and to add it to the water of the bath. As tonic for the skin some leaves of basil and sage can be used soaked in the alcohol, subsequently diluted with water. For the hair it is effective an infusion of used basil as lotion after the shampoo. In aromaterapia it is used as stimulating.

OREGANO

Common name / OREGANO
Scientific name / ORIGANUM VULGARE
Italian name / ORIGANO

Characteristics

The oregano is a perennial grassy plant, native of Europe and of western Asia, very common in Italy, in the uncultivated places, in the lawns, in the woods and in the scarps. It has small reunited white or rosy flowers in an ear infiorescenza, which bloom from July to September. Different varieties of it exist, very decorative, with yellow or green leaves variegated of white and with white flowers,

The oregano can be cultivated in all the grounds well breathed, in sunny positions, while they are being to exclude the grounds with water stagnations, too much cold in the winter months and those statements to north. It lends in the garden for thick and perfumed hems, but it also grows in vase. The oregano is propagated for seed, for scion, for layer and for division of tuft. The seeding can be done in February-March in small cases; the young seedlings will come then harvest to abode at the beginning of the month of May

Uses

The oregano, similar to the thyme for the perfume and the chemical composition of the essential oil, has perfuming, digestive, antispasmodic, analgesic, diuretic, balmy, antiseptic and expectorantcharacteristics. In the kitchen it is used for aromatizing cooked or raw dishes, cheeses, in the digestive liqueurs. The oregano is also used to cosmetic purposes: the bloom summits of the plant soaked in water refresh and invigorate the skin; in the bath water the flowers of oregano have relaxing and deodorant benefits effects. From the oregano an industrial essence is extracted that is employed in pharmaceutical reparations and in perfumery.

PARSLEY

Common name / PARSLEY
Scientific name / PETROSELINUM SATIVUM
Italian name / PREZZEMOLO

Characteristics

The parsley is a rustic grassy plant that in its first year of life produces a beautiful lock of decorative leaves, perfumed and that can be eaten, supported also by strong tall stems about forty centimeters. The parsley is a perennial plant when it is spontaneous, biennial if cultivated.

The beautiful leaves, always elegantly engraved, can be flat or curly according to the variety; they are very rich of vitamins Á, B and C and of mineral salts. The flowers bud only during the second year of cultivation, they are reunited in umbrellas and their color is white tending to green. This grassy native of northern Africa and of Smaller Asia, has a preference for the fresh places and the fertile and well drained grounds; it doesn't vegetate too much well in the compact grounds, that must be worked therefore to fund before the seeding. The parsley is sowed by spring at the end of the summer; if the temperature is low it slowly germinates, in about one month, if it is ideal (that is around the 18°) it employs two weeks. It is essential to damp constantly the ground during the germination.

Uses

The parsley, elegantly minced, pleasantly gives taste to almost all the dishes of the Mediterranean kitchen and it possesses endless qualities, it must be consumed however raw because taste and benefits are not lost, otherwise put at the end of cooking.

To strengthen the hair and to maintain them healthy it is good to rinse them well with an infusion of parsley. The raw leaves, if you chew them, they refresh the breath and they improve the state of health of the skin; while beated and redoubted in ointment (with the addition of some water of roses) they are good sedatives for the reddened eyes. If you boil the roots it has a bland laxative effect.

The parsley was well known by the ancient people, and above all from the Greek and from the Romans, which, however, they did a completely different use of it. The Greek were usual to bring on their heads this plant when they participated in the banquets, because they were convinced that it gave one note of joy and that it stimulated the appetite. The Romans used it instead to decorate their graves.

ROSMARY

Common name / ROSMARY
Scientific name / ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS
Italian name / ROSMARINO

Characteristics

The rosemary belongs to the family of the Labiate. It is a shrubby plant, perennial, with bushy gait that can reach a height of three meters. The stem at the beginning is prostrate, then erect and very branched with very deep roots and tenaciously anchored to the ground. The leaves are small, deprived of stem, some leathery ones, of a beautiful dark green color on the superior part and of a silver color on the inferior part, holds, linear and very dense on the branches. The flowers are reunited in clusters that grow at the armpit of the leaves; they are in a blue-violet color and they are present almost all the year.

Uses

The rosemary is considered the balmy plant for excellence and it has been used since the most ancient times for its medicinal characteristics. The essential oil of rosemary is a powerful antibacterial and fungicide. It has astringent characteristics owed to the tannin for which it is useful for the problems of diarrhea. It is effective in the cases of meteorism and intestinal problemsin general, in the case of ventral spasms, dizziness, digestive problems and for the psicophisical exhaustion. The infusion of rosemary and sage is excellent for the sore throat. The essential oil is also very used in perfumery in the composition of numerous lotions, perfumes, liniments, soaps and mouthwashes.

The rosemary in the kitchen is very appreciated and used for aromatizing various dishes: the flower is used for aromatizing the salads; the leaves, fresh or dried, are added to a lot of dishes like roasts, gravies, base dishes of potatoes as the rustic cakes. It is used in the patè of liver, with the lamb, the steer, the rabbit, the duck and the goose. it is excellent even on bread and pizza breads. The sprigs of rosemary, are used besides for aromatizing oil and vinegar with excellent results. The use of the rosemary in the kitchen makes the foods not only savory, but also more digestible.

VINEGAR

Characteristics

The wine vinegar is an aromatic product produced through the acetic fermentation of the wine. The wine's transformation in vinegar is a complex biochemical phenomenon conducted by microorganisms Microderma vinegars (the vinegar's mother). The sour taste of this food is due to the presence of acetic acid, while its aroma depends from the wine used, from the fermentation and from other possible workmanships. Vinegar can be distinguished for its color and, according to the wine used we obtain white, rosy or red vinegar.

According to the Italian legislation, vinegar is divided in five categories:

  • common vinegar: produced with not appreciated wine, through rapid fermentation, clarified and filtrated;
  • quality vinegar: produced with appreciated wine, through slow fermentation and following aging in wood strokes;
  • aromatic vinegar: produced using quality vinegar to which aromatic herbs are added;
  • without color vinegar: common vinegar without color, used in the food industry;
  • special vinegar: it identifies different special types of vinegar, among which the balmy vinegar of Modena.

Uses

Vinegar is known from thousand of years. The ancient Egyptians made use of it, as also the Romans. In the Middle Ages vinegar was used as ingredient in numerous recipes, but also as mean of maintenance of the foods. Diluted in water it was a drink used by the soldiers and by the farmers. It was also considered an effective element to fight the contagion of the plague.

The wine vinegar has a fundamental role in the Mediterranean kitchen today: it contributes to balance the tastes and its taste represents a precious complement for gastronomy. Vinegar is used in different fields. In perfumery it is used in the formulation of essences and perfumes, in pharmacy it is used for mouthwashes and gargles. Vinegar is good against migraine (applying on the forehead a cotton wad soaked of vinegar), againsttoothache (doing rinses), to protect the skin from the bad weather, to eliminate every trace of fat from the hair, to assuage the bother of the bug punctures (massaging the zone with a cotton wad soaked of vinegar).

Vinegar is a natural cleaner used in the domestic jobs to eliminate the limestone, to clean the floors, to revive the colors of carpets and clean copper and brass.

OLIVE OIL

Native of the Mediterranean tradition, the olive oil is a diffused food in the kitchen of the whole world. Not only appreciated for the ability to exalt the natural taste of the foods, but also for the tried beneficent effects on the health, it is an essential product of our daily diet. The operation of extraction of the oil is divided in three principal phases: “frangitura”,” gramolatura”, “spremitura”. The “frangitura” consists in the breakup of the whole olive, operation that once was done through the millstone with the wheels of stone (the so-called “molazzes”), replaced today with the “frangitoris” hammers. From the “frangitura” of the pulp and the core a kind of pasta comes out that is submitted to further workmanship. During the “gramolatura” the pasta obtained through the “frangitura” is remixed so that the drops of oil come together in bigger agglomerates and these can be easier separated from the solid part in the phase of “spremitura”. The “spremitura” is the phase in which we proceed to the separation of sansa, water and oil. The most traditional method consists in the mechanical pressure from which an oil of turbid aspect is obtained that must be allowed to settle.

Typologies of olive oil

Different typologies of olive oil exist: “extra-virgin” olive oil, virgin olive oil, olive oil, “sansa” olive oil. Between them the more appreciated is certainly the extra-virgin olive oil that is obtained through the pressure of the olives immediately brought to the crusher after the harvest and it doesn't contain any type of chemical additive. The “sansa” oil is obtained by what remains after the “spremitura” of the oil, the so-called sansa.

Principal uses in the kitchen

There are no limits to the use of olive oil in the kitchen. Raw it is used to season salads and appetizers or to give taste and to give a final touch to every kind of dishes: soups, pasta, pizza, dishes of fish and meat, vegetables or simply to season a slice of bread. Largely used for the alimentary preserves, fried food and every kind of gravy. Cooked it allows us to taste some good fried food.

Beneficent effects on health

The olive oil, above all if it is consumed raw, has notable beneficent effects on the organism: it positively acts on heart and arteries contributing to lower the level of cholesterol LCL (the so-called "bad” cholesterol) and raising that HDL (that so-called "good"). It contributes, therefore, to the prevention of the arteriosclerosis and the cardiovascular pathologies and to slow down the celebrate age. And then, cooked and raw, it is of easy digestibility.

Notes and curiosity

By the civilizations of the Mediterranean basin, the olive tree was considered sacred and the oil was used for religious purposes: in Greece and in the ancient Rome it was used as fuel in the votive lamps and for medicinal purposes to recover muscular and articular pains, for stomach and liver problems and for the care of burns. Packages of olive oil, also in more recent times, were recommended to maintain the natural color of hair.