Putting Up the Basil Harvest

This year when BJ's had their three-pot special on basil at the store near us, I quickly purchased a set.  When I got home (and the garden prepared)  I patted the basil plants out of the pots one at a time.  Carefully separating the plants, I set them in the ground.  There were 18 plants!  I thought a lot of them would probably die.  But they did not!

Yes, I don't mind the small holes.  One thing I learned:basil is pretty fragile and turns black quickly if bruised. I don't think that affects the flavor...

Now we have basil to harvest.  And preserve!

Going to our faithful YouTube I found many many videos on taking care of basil.

This is what I did:

Washed out the sink in good shape.  Added 2-3 inches of cold water and a good-sized glug of white vinegar.  (A glug is a real measurement term.  Really.  In this case it is probably about one-quarter cup.)

Dropped in all of the basil I had cut and let is sit for 15 minutes.

Basil drying on the plate before microwaving.

Laid a towel on the counter and after shaking off as much water as possible, places the basil on the towel then blotted it off with another dry towel.

After letting the basil air dry for about 2 hours I placed a lot of leaves on a microwave-safe plate and microwaved for 2-2 1/2 minutes.  (I started out microwaving for 1 1/2 minutes but every time I needed to go to 2 1/2 minutes so I went up to 2 minutes, then checked.)

Basil after drying 2 1/2 minutes in the microwave ready to cover and put into the freezer.

When the time was up, the basil was nice and dry so I crumbled it up somewhat and put it in a freezer container. I will store it in the freezer.