Does basil taste like pot for anyone else?

December 15, 2007 4:50 AM

Does basil fried rice taste like marijuana to anyone else, or is it just me? Am I tasting the spice wrong?

I just had basil fried rice at a Chinese/Thai restaurant called Fusion's, in Ashland MA. As far as I know, I've never had anything else with basil before, and to me the food tasted strongly like marijuana. Like, very, very "I just took a hit and I'm holding the smoke in my mouth" strongly. Meanwhile, the beef fried rice I ordered tasted just fine. My friends were dining with me and ate the remainder of the dish after I realized how bad it tasted, and they all think it tasted fine and not at all like pot. I came home and asked more friends, and they all agree that I'm nuts.

I'm thinking I vaguely remember a post about certain people mis-tasting certain foods, particularly spices, but I can only find posts on Miraculin. Any ideas? Does anyone agree?

posted by anonymous to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

I've never had basil fried rice, but I've grown basil and eaten it fresh and cooked in various ways, and I've also lived with a dedicated pot smoker. I've never noticed any similarity between the two.
posted by happyturtle at 6:03 AM on December 15, 2007

I'm told that Thai basil tastes different from Italian basil, for what that's worth.
posted by lizzicide at 6:17 AM on December 15, 2007

Yeah, I get that a little sometimes.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 6:37 AM on December 15, 2007 [1 favorite]

The wikipedia page on Basil lists its chemical components including Pinene and Myrcene which are also a components of marijuana. It is probably these you are tasting.

As for mistasting spices it is well known that some people have a genetic trait that makes coriander (cilantro) taste soapy and/or have a foul smell, so this may be what you are thinking of.
posted by tallus at 6:43 AM on December 15, 2007

Perhaps this is tangential, but this is the first time I've heard that it's a genetic trait that causes cilantro to taste soapy. I've always thought people just liked the taste of soap for some reason. Thanks, tallus.
posted by greasepig at 7:48 AM on December 15, 2007

I cooked Thai fried rice last night and didn't experience what you write. Thai basil is a distinct taste, though, and perhaps the aromatic nature of it reads to you as closest to good pot.

There are two kinds of Thai basil: holy basil (batman) and umm... the other kind. Perhaps you'll have better luck with the other kind.
posted by lothar at 10:04 AM on December 15, 2007

I find when Thai basil is deep fried first, it takes on that marijuana flavor.
posted by Etaoin Shrdlu at 4:37 PM on December 15, 2007

Perhaps there was a wee mix-up in the kitchen at "Fusion's." Keep an eye out during the next few days for AskMe questions along the lines of "Does pot taske like basil for anyone else?"
posted by notswedish at 6:58 PM on December 15, 2007 [2 favorites]

Seconding Etaoin Shrdlu. I find when (Italian) basil is dried, fried or dessicated in some way in the cooking process, the flavour can be reminiscent of pot -- pot leaf in particular. For example I recall eating a pizza recently where they had for some reason topped the pizza with the basil on BEFORE cooking the pizza, so the basil was flaky and dry when it came out. I remember musing how much it tasted like dope leaf (unpleasant, for that matter).
posted by Tsar Pushka at 10:55 PM on December 15, 2007

Haven't experienced that myself with Thai Basil, but I do experience that with Chamomile Tea, which tastes so strongly of pot to me that I find myself distracted by it.
posted by greekphilosophy at 10:02 AM on December 17, 2007