making olive oil infusions

mutley74

I tried making an garlic and chilli oilive oil infusion by popping in some crushed garlic and a chilli in about 1/3rd bottle of oilve oil.

but just read on google that adding raw garlic can lead to some bacteria growth in the oil.....

so how do others make oil infusions?

I will remove the garlic and chilli from the oil and heat the oil to sterilise any bacteria left - is this a reasonable approach? (did not want to throw away expensive olive oil)

(posted on this board as not sure which other board to use!)

tootiefrooties

I'm not sure that's the best way to salvage it - olive oil is very different when it's heated compared to fresh. Plus to "sterilise" it you'd need to get it to a very high temperature which olive oil doesn't do very well. I think your best bet is to use this oil as quickly as possible, say, within a week (in cooking, salad dressings, mayonnaise, for bread-dipping) so it doesn't go to waste and doesn't have time to go bad. Then, if you want to make infused oils, blanche your additions (e.g. a chili) quickly in boiling water and then straight into icy water. it should then be safe to infuse.... i think!

HTH

cootambear

Looks like I`ll be chucking my lovely olive oil bottle thats been stewing full of garlic for two years!





Oil Infusions and the Risk of Botulism

Flavored oils can add excitement to salads, marinades and sauces but infused oils have the potential to support the growth of Clostridium (C.) botulinum. Although the oil by itself does not pose a risk for botulism, the trendy addition of vegetables, herbs and fruits to oils, to make an oil infusion, can make this product potentially unsafe.
Vegetables, herbs, and fruits are likely to have some degree of soil contamination, especially those that grow on or under the ground. Soil contamination introduces the possibility that C botulinum spores may be added as an unwelcome ingredient in a recipe. If the produce is put into an anaerobic environment, such as a container of oil, Botulism Toxin can be produced and botulism may result upon consumption. Several cases of botulism involving garlic-in-oil preparations brought this hazard to light in the 1980's. In 1985, Vancouver, BC, 37 people got botulism from a garlic-in-oil preparation. This was followed by a 1988 laboratory investigation into the survival of and toxin production by C botulinum in garlic-in-oil preparations. In 1989, 3 people in Kingston, NY, became ill, also from a garlic-in-oil infusion. Thus, in 1989 the FDA issued a ruling, ordering the removal from store shelves of all commercial garlic-in-oil preparations that lacked an acidifying agent, followed by a mandate requiring the addition of an acidifying agent (such as phosphoric or citric acid) to all commercial garlic-in-oil preparations. Acid prevents the growth of the C botulinum, so any spores that might be present in an infusion will not be able to flourish and produce toxin. The acid must be added as the recipe is being prepared.
Are people aware of the slight, but deadly risk presented when these oil infusions are not prepared properly? Consumers need to understand the potentially life-threatening hazard of oil infusions. Oil infusion recipes can still be tasty and safe as long as the following precautions are clearly stated and adhered to:

• Wash all soil-contaminated produce before adding it to an oil infusion,
• Add an acidifying agent such as lemon juice or vinegar to the recipe at the rate of one tablespoon per cup of oil,
• Keep oil infusions refrigerated in order to retard the growth of any microbes,
• Discard infusions after one week, or sooner if apparent cloudiness, gas bubbles, or foul odor develop and,
• When in doubt, throw it out.

Source: Food Safety Notebook, Vol. 9, No. 4, April 1998.

Bongedone

mutley74 wrote: »

I tried making an garlic and chilli oilive oil infusion by popping in some crushed garlic and a chilli in about 1/3rd bottle of oilve oil.

but just read on google that adding raw garlic can lead to some bacteria growth in the oil.....

so how do others make oil infusions?

I will remove the garlic and chilli from the oil and heat the oil to sterilise any bacteria left - is this a reasonable approach? (did not want to throw away expensive olive oil)

(posted on this board as not sure which other board to use!)

How long was the garlic in the oil for? If it was only a few hours and you have removed it then I think it will be fine. Though I am not sure I would risk it because it is a killer. According to Wikepedia

"Oils infused with garlic or herbs should be refrigerated"

[Deleted User]

I'd be really wary of using the oil after you'd had garlic in it.

I looked into making garlic infusion last year after being given a lovely commercial one as a gift. Then I read how difficult it was and all the horror stories about botulism so I gave up as I couldn't be sure I had got it right.

I've made plenty of herb/chilli infusions with no problems in the past. As long as the herbs/chillies are clean and dry and fully submerged they kept ok for months and months.

It looked so easy. Bung some garlic in a bottle of olive oil! Oh well.

If in doubt, chuck it out.

cootambear

While i will regretfully be throwing out my current batch, I have no qualms about making the stuff again, with the addition of lemon juice. I used it mainly for marinades anyway, so the juice addition will probably help. Its worth noting that botulism spores will be quite common in fresh food, it is incorrect storage (bottled or canned in a non acidic environment) that causes growth and lethal levels of the toxin

mutley74

Bongedone wrote: »

How long was the garlic in the oil for? If it was only a few hours and you have removed it then I think it will be fine. Though I am not sure I would risk it because it is a killer. According to Wikepedia

"Oils infused with garlic or herbs should be refrigerated"

just a few hours! But removed the garlic and i sterlised it by heating high for a few mins. Finished over the past few days in general cooking now.

babyx1uk3

oh god now im worried, never realised you had to do all this stuff and i just put loads of raw garlic in them and kept it in it, whats more have been using it for the last 6 months. will def be throwing it out now! thankyou op i would have never been aware of this before! x