There are many summer drinks that cool perfectly in the heat. Compote, kvass, iced tea, lemonade, fruit juices are all well known to us. But drinks prepared on the basis of various plants, such as mint or basil, are equally tasty and healthy. They not only refresh well, but at the same time saturate the body with essential vitamins and minerals.
Basil drink: benefits for the body
The main beneficial properties of the plant are caused not only by the presence of vitamins in it, but also by valuable essential oils. They are contained in large quantities in fresh basil, and in dried leaves they are almost nonexistent. 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 to the water and give a pleasant aroma. Do not cook basil for a long time, otherwise it will not work to preserve useful properties.
A basil-based drink relieves cramping and treats inflammation in the intestines. It also helps people with insomnia. A cold drink from basil is able to cheer up and refresh well in the summer heat. When used hot, it helps to cope with a cold and relieve sore throat.
Making basil drink with lemon
The classic recipe for making a basil drink involves adding lemon to the water. From this, the drink will become much more useful, and a pleasant sourness will appear in the taste.
The recipe is very simple and takes no more than 5 minutes. For a drink you will need: water (3.5 l), 300 g of sugar, lemon and a bunch of
basil (green or purple).
The cooking sequence is as follows:
- Put a pot of water on the fire and bring to a boil.
- Rinse fresh basil under running water to clean it of dust and fine litter.
- In boiling water, add sugar first, and then basil (sprigs with leaves).
- Optionally chop the lemon and also send it to the pan.
- Wait until the water boils again, and you can remove the pan from the heat.
- After 20 minutes, remove the lemon slices from the drink. Otherwise, an unpleasant bitter taste will appear in it.
The color of the drink depends on which basil is put in it: green or purple. But the plant color does not affect the beneficial properties and taste.
A basil drink with lemon is recommended to be served chilled, after adding ice cubes to the glass. In hot form, it more closely resembles tea, but this makes it no less tasty and healthy.
Basil drink: recipe with mint
This is a very quick and easy recipe for making a tasty and fragrant drink. Cooking in a pan does not need anything. All the ingredients are simply poured with 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 twigs. In a carafe for water, put the chopped leaves of mint and basil on the bottom, slices of half a lemon and pour all the ingredients with boiling water (0.5 l). Cover the carafe and let it brew for 30 minutes. After that, add another 1 liter of water into it, add honey or sugar to taste.
Watermelon drink with basil
This truly summer drink turns out to be so tasty and aromatic that it can quite replace a full-fledged dessert. To prepare it, you need to take leaves from three branches of basil and 4 cups of watermelon pulp. And also you need a little lemon juice (1 tbsp. Spoon) and 800 ml of water.
Grate the basil and watermelon pulp 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 of basil and watermelon is ready. Now it needs to be poured into glasses and can be served.