Get It Now: Dark Opal Basil

Looks like velvet.

In Wintering, Katherine May writes about how nature’s seasons mirror our own. Stillness, loss, and renewal are all part of the same cycle. This summer, I felt that deeply. The sun was unrelenting, and the fields gave less than I’d hoped. But rather than mourn what didn’t grow, I turned to what did: basil and lots of it.

That abundance became opportunity. With the help of volunteers, we harvested, washed, and created a handful of value-added goods like basil salt, basil simple syrup, and baba ganoush. We have so much basil on the farm that we even had enough to make 200 samples for the UH Cancer Center’s Ohana Pink Diet and Nutrition Event this past Saturday (add details).

The past five weeks have been spent with my head down, eyes on the calendar, heart focused on sowing seeds for what’s next. And now, that time is here.

We’re excited to announce the launch of our CSA program, offering fresh, local produce on a bi-weekly schedule, a rhythm that gives both the farm and our customers time to breathe. Want weekly deliveries? We’ve got you covered.

Meet us at the market. Check out the site. Be part of what grows next.

Quick Facts:

• Dark Opal basil is a purple‐leafed cultivar of sweet basil, bred in the U.S. in the 1950s.

• The purple coloration comes from anthocyanins (especially cyanidin‐based and peonidin‐based compounds).

• Anthocyanins a responsible for the vibrant colors in fruits, vegetables, and flowers and provide antioxidant protection.

• It has aromatic compounds similar to other sweet basil (eugenol, etc.) and mild spicy / clove / licorice / anise / earthy tones.

• Home storage is challenging. Here is an article on the best ways to keep your basil fresh.

Culinary Uses:

• Fresh garnish

• Pesto

• Herbal vinegar

• Cocktail ingredient

• Flavored oils

• Pickling

• Herbal tea 

Medicinal & Wellness Uses

• Antioxidant

• Digestive Aid

• Stress relief

• Anti-inflammatory

• Immune support

• Wound wash

Beauty & Skincare Uses

• Face steam

• Toner infusion

• Hair rinse

• Aromatherapy

• Body Salve

• Acne + Bug Bites

Moodboard and Aesthetic Takeaways

Playlist

The playlist pairs jazz with downtempo beats, cosmic soul with a few psychedelic turns—music that feels like tasting basil tea at dusk.

Additional Reading:

• Antioxidant and Anticancer Activities of Ocimum basilicum cv. Dark Opal (Mohammadi et al.) – shows extracts & essential oils of Dark Opal having antioxidant activity and inhibiting proliferation in MCF-7 cells. phcogcommn.org

• In Vitro and In Vivo Anticancer Activity of Basil (Ocimum spp.) (Perna et al., 2022) – broader review of basil species, many showing anticancer potential. PMC

• Basil Seeds as a Novel Food… – describes nutritional, medicinal, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antioxidant properties for basil seeds; while not always specifically Dark Opal, many basil uses are shared across cultivars. PMC