Shiso

This beautiful variety adds visual beauty with its rich greens up top and gloriously rich red undersides. A species of Perilla in the mint family, shiso is an annual plant native to Southeast Asia.  Its leaves are used as a vegetable and herb, while the seeds can ground to make a nutritious cooking oil. Vibrant yet refreshing, the aromatic leaves offer a complex fusion of basil, mint and cinnamon, with notes of cumin and cloves. It is an easy and fast growing herb, getting to 30” tall and if left to mature, taking 80 days. Save seed for future crops. There are many ways to add shiso to your recipe collection. A few ideas include: using it to make delicious Japanese-style Shiso pesto; employing it as a wrap for tuna sandwiches; adding chopped shiso to fresh fruit (esp. plums); adding leaves to green tea for a little extra zest; frying the leaves in a tempura batter or even using shiso oil to drizzle over gazpacho. The applications are endless. Plant Perilla frutescens (shiso) in full sun to light shade in fertile well-drained soil. May over-winter in warmer climates. Attracts butterflies. Deer resistant.