Q.Can I Use the Basil Leaves That Get Dried Out While on the Plant?
I often find some basil leaves dry out while still on the plant, or dry out in a bunch harvested to use in cooking. Are these diseased or can they be eaten or cooked with? What causes the drying out on a growing plant?
Sorry, I don't have any definitive answer to offer. I harvest my plants so often that the leaves don't have time to dry. Sometimes, at the end of the season, the really old leaves turn black and are dry. I grow sweet Genovese, maybe other varieties have this problem.
To AnnsGreeneHaus, I agree I do not like the Dried leaves and discard them. But I do not know why some leaves on the plant start to dry out when the rest are healthy on the same stalk.
Do you have any ideas on the cause? I do not see any tiny bugs on the bottom or top of the leaf.
Personally, I don't like dried basil. I will use wilted basil, especially in pesto. The only time leaves dry on my plant(s) is late in the season, or have had '' mechanical'' damage. (The leaf got hit, and the center stem gets damaged.)
