Profumo di Genova

Profumo di Genova is a Genovese-type sweet basil imported from Italy and sold in the US as a Renee's Garden exclusive. Its selling point is a deliberately narrow flavour: Renee's says the strain was bred for clean, bright basil taste without the minty or clove overtones that creep into some sweet basils, which is exactly what a Ligurian pesto basil is supposed to deliver. The plant is the short, dense, market-stall kind of basil European greengrocers sell in pots for repeat picking rather than a tall cut-stem field type. Territorial Seed, the other US catalog carrying it, highlights the same two traits, a compact mounding habit and notable disease resistance, as the reasons to choose it for greenhouse and container work over a taller Genovese. Use it wherever a recipe calls for classic basil flavour: pesto, caprese, finishing pasta, or infusing.