Flavored Oils

[FaustianBargain]

The most direct way to flavour a oil is to add the flavouring ingredient to the oil. I have seen garlic oil made in a kitchen...also basil oil. basil oil was a weird green colour and wasnt that convincing...thats about it.

which oil is best?

someone mentioned that flavoured oils should be refridgerated. huh? oil in the fridge??

i have purchased bottled flavoured oils(colavita, iirc) earlier..lemon, tarragon, rosemary, basil and chilli, of course..these are quite 'clear' and bloody expensive... i can think of ginger and most of the herbs as flavours in oil..any other flavour suggestions? tips?

[chefgy]

A pretty simple but quite tasty one is just a few lemon slices and about 10 black peppercorns.

[FaustianBargain]

A pretty simple but quite tasty one is just a few lemon slices and about 10 black peppercorns.

wont the lemon juice be the 'water' in the oil and refuse to mix?

[andiesenji]

If you infuse raw garlic in oil you must refrigerate it.

However, you can get a much more flavorful oil and one that is safe to keep at room temp if you pour the oil into a deep vessel, add the garlic cloves and "roast" it in the oven.

You want to do this at about 275 degrees for at least two hours, because you don't want the oil to boil, you want to get it to the point where the garlic is roasted and actually carmelized in the oil.

For larger volumens (I generally do 6 quarts at a time) you need to "roast" it longer.

It is easy enough to fish out a piece with a slotted spoon, mash it onto a piece of bread and taste it.

You can then pour the hot oil into sterilized (and dried) bottles and seal them or simply put the oil into sterilized pint Mason jars, add a few of the garlic cloves to each jar, place the lid and tighten the ring. As the oil cools you will hear the "ping" of the lid sealing.

This is now safe to store on a pantry shelf. You also do not have to refrigerate it after opening if you are going to use it up within a month or so, it will keep quite nicely at room temperature.

I use a very good olive oil when I make this as the flavor has to be optimal for the final product to be at its best.

Andie

[Malawry]

I make garlic oil and roasted garlic exactly the way Andie just described at work. I use up the oil within two weeks, keeping it in a squeezie bottle and using it to flavor or cook foods or adding it to vinaigrettes. It's awesome.

[Charlie O]

I remember seeing Jamie Oliver do a similar thing with chilies.

Roasting them in the oven is quicker than leaving them to infuse - but is there any noticable difference in flavour?

[lmarshal1]

Giada De Laurentis, on the Food Network on the Everyday Italian show, made chili oil a couple weeks ago by adding dried, crushed red pepper flakes to olive oil and heating it to 180 degrees and then storing it in the refrigerator. I thought it sounded good and think I'll try it. Seems that it would be easy to add any dried herb/spice to an oil in this way. I'm not sure either why it would need to be refrigerated when adding dried herbs though, and not adding fresh ingredients. Her recipe made two cups. I'd probably make less the first time and use it up fairly fast. lkm

[Shalmanese]

Yes, the high heat from the roasting turns the bitter components in the garlic into a sweet pungency which makes it a lot more mild and mellow.

[Franci]

This is very old post...but I need to ask a question.

Today I made a scallion oil from a recipe of Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. Basically you cook the scallions in peanut oil until they turn brown. Drain the scallions and filter the oil. She suggests to keep in cool place not in the refrigerator an she doesn't give an expiration date as for another oil she uses (coriander oil).

I think home made oils are still at risk of botulism and plus I'm pregnant so I really don't want to take any chance.

How long would you keep it? What's the downside of refrigerating it? Does it get cloudy?

Thanks

[Franci]

Almost forgot. Hot pepper oil made from dry pepper flakes, since they are dry, should be safe, right?

I broght the oil almost to smoking point let it cool a little and poured over the flakes.

Edited August 30, 2010 by Franci (log)