Kennedy Creek Growers Basil

I really need to get my herb planting situation sorted. Buying fresh herbs is like one of the dumbest wastes of money in my tightly-controlled life (cofe and snacks don't count because those aren't wastes ty), and yet!! There's always something more urgent to do (like write this blog post? Hmm). Basil's one of the worst culprits because I go through a ton of it (more now that the only cheeses I eat are fresh) and, as this exemplar showed, it only lasts 1 day (IF THAT) when you buy it from the store and live in the fiery pits of hell. Anyway, I sprayed it with hourly cold water and it survived just enough to produce the 1.5c of basil I needed for my nut-free pesto, which was fresh and delicious. And the company is at least local to me, so I guess it could be worse. We did it, basil! 

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [3.50, fair but demoralizing]
Taste: 7/10 

Signature Select Fresh Basil Leaves

This isn't what the container looks like, but whatever, it was bad anyway. I saw this at the store for 1 whole dollar cheaper than the fresh basil plant I usually get, and I thought "yeah, OK", but the container says not to refrigerate for over 24 hours, so I didn't, and then it completely went black and slimy in a matter of 2-3 days. So instead I had no basil at all. (Upside: turns out the lasagna tastes better without basil anyway, but it was the PRINCIPLE of the thing!)

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [2.50]
Taste: ???/10 

Gourmet Garden Basil Paste

This concept is fucked (unless you need it for disability or whatever). Well, I guess in a roundabout way, I need it for disability or whatever: I'm too physically and/or mentally ill these days to take care of the repertoire of herbs I used to grow at home (basil/parsley/rosemary/dill/sage/cilantro), so they've all died (except some crispy parsley still hanging on.... though not for long, I fear), and my store didn't have any fresh basil (classic). So, I bought this thing. In its defense, this seems very convenient, doesn't have any allergens, and lasts much longer than fresh basil. It's also about the same price. Compared to the weird frozen garlic blops I bought when I was in a similar store-didn't-have-garlic scenario, this tastes much more similar to Normal Non-Tube Basil. It also smells the same as fresh basil. And since I was blending it into a sauce, the texture difference did not present a problem. So, what am I complaining about? I don't know, it's just very unappealing, since I mostly see basil as a topper or garnish and I don't want a toothpaste looking sludge as a garnish. But, maybe it has its place. Maybe I'll come around on basil tube after a few more gos at it.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Tube: Hmm/10