Basil

If a kitchen has only a few herbs in its possession, basil will likely be one of them. Its fragrant essence combines well with Rosemary and Thyme in meat dishes, fish, vegetables, cheese, soup and eggs, and is one of the main ingredients in pesto, along with pine nuts and parmesan cheese.Basil fresh from the garden is a sensory delight—one of life's simple pleasures. This staple herb of Thai, Vietnamese and Indian cuisine is quickly finding its way onto more and more dinner tables in the West, particularly in pastas and salads. The varieties below allow you to select the perfect flavor for your cooking and color for your garden, whether it be the musky-flavored Holy Basil, sacred to the Hindus, the licorice-scented variety used in most authentic Thai dishes, or Lemon Basil, whose seeds are a key ingredient in some Asian sweets.