Making chili oil advice please

*manda*

We have picked the last of our chillis and we would like to make chili oil. I've looked online and various recipes suggest just heating the chilis and oil for a while, cool and sterile bottle. Other sites talk about the risk of botulism. While these are likely to be for the in laws, I don't want the hassle of funerals - so any tips gratefully received?!

tryingtobethrifty

manda - I don't know but I just had to say thank you for a wee laugh at the time of night (kids going - not going- to bed time) when I'm normally most grumpy!!

*manda*

No problem :beer:

I'm too tight to buy them presents- homemade all the way this year!

WTFH

Make sure you dry the chillies properly before putting them in the oil, otherwise they will grow mouldy after a few months and if they are dried properly, the oil will get quite hot (spicy, not temp) over time.

*manda*

How would I dry them though? We tried them in the oven with a long slow heat and they were ok but very slightly burnt- not sure if there is a better way? We have chucked them on pizza and they have been fine.

I think the idea of heating them appeals because it is quick and easy too?

WTFH

Dry them on a cooling rack on top of a radiator. Ovens are too hot, and you don't want direct heat either. Just give them a few days near heat - a bit like drying mushrooms.

*manda*

I don't think we'd be able to get a cooling rack on our radiator- they are too thin- could we just hang them with pegs or something or would they be too close?

Does using dry chillies eliminate the risk of botulism? I've read so many conflicting articles :undecided

WTFH

*manda* wrote: »

I don't think we'd be able to get a cooling rack on our radiator- they are too thin- could we just hang them with pegs or something or would they be too close?

Does using dry chillies eliminate the risk of botulism? I've read so many conflicting articles :undecided

Hanging them will do - just no direct contact. As for the links with botulism, well that's a case of well-meaning scaremongers repeating stories on the Internet until they are taken as fact.
It started with a case in the US where a tin of chilli sauce was found to have botulism in it. That's a manufactured tin can of heavily processed food. This was then picked up by daily mail types who left a few facts out and repeated the story until the Chinese whisper became "home made chilli oil will have botulism in it if you do not follow certain undefined steps."
The thing is, if the chillies are fresh and there is air in the bottle, then over time bacteria in the air will cause the chillies to go furry, just like strawberries do if you leave them in the fridge for a month, of that you might get on a jar if jam that's been open too long.
It's a bacteria, the food is "going off" but it's not necessarily botulism. Unfortunately fir scaremongers, that would ruin the story, so it's better to leave that out. Another check on the stories is to see if any of them actually provide a reference or link to a single factual recorded event - nine do, they all talk about having heard it form someone else, etc, but no actual names & proven linked facts.

The simple truth is: if you don't want your chillies to go furry, dry them. Adding a little heat will not kill off all the bacteria, they are in the air (if you're unsure, try making a proper sourdough starter in a sterile environment). Not all bacteria are bad (again, take sourdough as an example). They need moisture to live on, so drying products removes part of their food source - that's why dried foods last a long time.

Kojak12

Re drying - I ues the oven on its lowest setting and leave them for hours. If your lowest setting is too high you will have to switch the oven off leave to cool, switch it on again....

I have been home making stuff for years with no problems. I put all jars in the dishwaser on a hot wash first and put boling water all the lids just before use. I wear clean gloves and give stuff a quick boil or blanch first if I am adding whole fruit to kill anything on the surface. If you are worried put the lids across the top of your jars (ie don't screw them on so there is space fort eh air to expand when heated) once filled and put them in the oven at about 75 degrees. This will act as a final step to kill off anything from the air.

If you have more chillies make some sweet chilli sauce - honey and sugar and chillis. It keeps for ages and gets really hot!

*manda*

Thanks for the tips- and for taking such time to add detail, you are stars!

I have about 15 long chillies drying by the radiator now, we have 6 small bottles to fill from Lakeland, only probably 100 ml each.

With the chilli dipping sauce - do you have a recipe with quantities? E.g how much sugar and honeY? This sounds like a great idea if we have any left