Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Basil Seeds

Vietnamese Basil Seeds. I have also heard them called Subja Seeds, Sabja Seeds, Takmaria Seeds, as well as a host of other names. This specific seed is one of the main ingredients in the Indian dessert Falooda. This varietal of basil seed begins to bloom when submerged in water. The whole process from seed to bloomed seed only takes about 5-10 min. The finished product does not have a lot of flavor. I think it is more of a texural and visual component. The bloomed seeds remind me of tapioca pearls with a little crunch on the inside. I will be using these seeds on a new dessert at Corton. The pictures below are unbloomed seeds, seeds blooming in water, and the finished bloomed seeds


3 comments:

  1. What if you bloomed them in tea or orange juice?

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  2. I have never tried blooming them in anything but water. Im sure they will have the same effect. (swelling etc)They might take on some of that flavor as well. What I have done before is bloom them in water and then pass them and then add a flavoring component to the seeds (Basil simple syrup etc). Let me know if you try blooming them in another solution other than water.

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  3. I just used some the other day! Bloomed them in a rose geranium stock. Worked beautifully!

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