Does chopped dried basil improve cream chicken and mixed vegatable soup?

What do you mean by ';improve?';





If you mean the taste, that depends.





Basil is a member of the Anise family (the plant that makes licorice). So is fennel.


It imparts a mild licorice flavor to foods. It goes phenominally with fresh tomatos, and adds a slightly sweet, slightly licorice flavor to any food it is added to.





So the question then becomes, how much do you like basil? How much do you like licorice?





Personally, I only use basil with tomato dishes, because I don't like licorice. I love basil with fresh tomatoes, but don't like fennel at all...It's a matter of what tastes good to you. (I like to add a bit of curry powder and powdered onion to my soup, instead!)