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Published 1974
As usual an element in bouquets garnis as thyme or bay in pre-Carême French cuisine, basil disappeared almost completely and, even today, its only common use is in the Provençal soupe au pistou. The author of a booklet on rabbit cookery, dating from the early part of this century, in which some of the recipes were culled from antique sources, notes that he has eliminated such bizarre herbs as basil, leaf thyme, rosemary, and marjoram, “aromatic plants employed in olden times, the taste of which would seem strange to us today.” That attitude was and remains very general in France today (the Italians have never faltered in their loyalty, basil-flavored tomato sauces and the Genovese pesto having been borrowed into many an American kitchen as well).