Had a question about the basil oil.
I saw a video on youtube where stems were blanched separately from the leaves for added flavor, and the oil was also briefly brought to simmer to infuse further after blended and before straining.
1. Is there any reason the chefsteps crew chose not to include stems for the oil? Is there any flavor in them or benefit to using the stems? It certainly would increase yield if there are no off flavors.
2. Is there any benefit or detriment to heating?
3. Finally, could this be taken further, by infusing an oil with garlic/chili/etc before blending with basil to get a green oil that also has some garlic and heat in it as well? This might be nice for pasta...
