Drink from basil: cooking options at home

There are many summer drinks that cool perfectly in the heat. Compote, kvass, tea with ice, lemonade, fruit juices - they are all well known to us. But not less tasty and useful are drinks made on the basis of various plants, for example mint or basil. They not only refresh well, but also saturate the body with the necessary vitamins and minerals.

Basil: a benefit for the body

The main useful properties of the plant are due not only to the presence in it of vitamins, but also valuable essential oils. They are kept in huge quantities in fresh basil, and in dried leaves there are practically none. When preparing a drink, it is recommended to add basil at the very end of cooking. So the plant will have time to give the essential oils into the water and give a pleasant aroma. Do not cook basil for a long time, otherwise you will not be able to save useful properties.

A basil-based drink relieves spasms and treats inflammation in the intestines. He also helps people suffering from insomnia. A cold drink from basil is able to cheer and refresh well in the summer heat. When used hot, it helps to cope with the common cold and reduce the pain in the throat.

Preparation of a drink from basil with lemon

The classic recipe for making a drink from basil involves adding lemon to the water. From this, the drink will be much more useful, and a pleasant sour will appear in the taste.

The recipe is very simple and takes no more than 5 minutes. For the drink you need: water (3.5 liters), 300 grams of sugar, lemon and a bunch of basil (green or purple).

The sequence of preparation is as follows:

1. Put the pan of water on the fire and bring to a boil.
2. Fresh basil is washed under running water to clean it from dust and small litter.
3. In boiling water, add sugar first, and then basil (twigs with leaves).
4. Optionally cut the lemon and also send it to the pan.
5. Wait until the water boils again, and you can remove the pan from the fire.
6. After 20 minutes, pull out of the drink lemon slices. Otherwise, it will have an unpleasant bitterish taste.

The color of the drink depends on which basil it was put in: green or purple. But the color of the plant does not influence the useful properties and taste qualities.

Drink basil with lemon recommended to serve chilled, pre-adding ice cubes to the glass. In hot form, it is more like a tea, but it becomes no less tasty and useful.

Drink basil: recipe with mint

This is a very quick and simple recipe for a tasty and fragrant drink. You do not need to cook in a saucepan. All ingredients are simply poured hot water, the drink is infused, after which honey or sugar is added to taste.

To prepare a drink from basil, you need to take 5 branches of this fragrant plant and peppermint. Rinse them under running water, separate the leaves from the twigs. In a water decanter put on the bottom cut mint leaves and basil, slices of half a lemon and pour all the ingredients with boiling water (0.5 liters). Cover the decanter with a lid and let it brew for 30 minutes. After this, add a further 1 liter of water, add honey or sugar to taste.

Watermelon drink with basil

This really summer drink turns out so tasty and fragrant that it can quite replace a full dessert. To make it, you need to take leaves from three branches of basil and 4 cups of watermelon flesh. And also need a little lemon juice (1 tablespoon) and 800 ml of water.

Basil and watermelon flesh rub through a sieve to get a thick juice. Add lemon juice and water to the resulting mass. Stir, and we can assume that the summer drink from basil and watermelon is ready. Now it should be poured over glasses and can be served to the table.